How To Let It Go
by warorpeace
Summary: When the Ice Princess and a runaway with two Furies cross paths, what could possibly go wrong? Hiccup decides to leave the Barbarian Archipelago and ends up crashing into Arendelle. He wakes up to the sight of a young girl with platinum blond hair.. Slowly, they begin to build up a hidden friendship.(Both have 15 years in the beginning; will eventually veer into main Frozen events)
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: Hello fellow readers and welcome to another story written by me. This one is the crossover between HTTYD and Frozen that I've been working on. First things first, I thank all of those that sent me a title suggestion to this story. I have finally chosen R2-M0's suggestion, considering the main theme of this story being the exploration of Hiccup's and Elsa's slowly forming friendship. Also, I'm trying a different setting with this fiction. Not only the canon will be considered canon, but R2-M0 fanfiction, Echoes of Falling Snow, will be as well. It is a flawless work this writer has created, in which he manages to truly capture the very essence that made Frozen be such masterpiece. I absolutely recommend his work to all 'Frozen' enthusiasts out there. But don't worry, once HTTYD and Frozen cross paths in my story I'll post a resume so everyone understands my references._**

**_ANII: This fic takes a pace slower than those I've read, so it'll take a couple of chapters before we see Hiccup and Elsa meeting. I wanted to create a unique departure of Hiccup from Berk and introduce an OC dragon: The White Fury. For those that are reading 'How to Become a Dragon Chief', the only difference is that he breathes ice instead of fire in this AU._**

**_Without further ado:_**

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Hiccup was walking through the forest carrying a basket. His destination was the Cove, the place where he first how a dragon wasn't a mindless beast, the place he first befriended a dragon, a Night Fury no less, and the place he found a best, true friend after years of loneliness. But this time, he wasn't planning on simply visiting his best friend Toothless. His determined walking was a result of a decision he had made earlier that day.

"Bud? We're leaving. Forever. Come on, let's pack up," Hiccup said as he entered the cove. The dragon lazily lying down immediately shot up and met him happily, his tong hanging loosely from his mouth, just like the other days that Hiccup visited the Cove. His attitude soon changed once his rider didn't meet the same enthusiasm, even though Hiccup clearly tried to. Toothless could sense some uneasiness inside the boy, so, adjusting his position, the black dragon looked at Hiccup with concerned eyed.

He saw the changes in his dragon in his dragon demeanor and sighed in defeat. He dropped the pack and decided to explain to Toothless what happened: "Well, I guess I'll have to explain myself…" he mumbled, noticing Toothless' confused gaze over him. He didn't blame the dragon though, since all the days he came to the Cove to visit the elusive overgrown salamander, he was always cheered up the moment he spotted Toothless. But today, even though he tried, Hiccup couldn't muster enough joy when he saw Toothless.

It was reasonable; after all, Hiccup was looking to what would allow him to run away... to run away from Berk

"The thing is: I was chosen to kill the Nightmare today after I defeated the White Fury again, before Astrid could hurt him." He sighed, recalling the events that happened earlier, "I didn't want to, but he was fairly distracted, since they actually let him out of the caverns, and because he was focused on me, she found an opening to attack him. That's why I had to defeat him. Otherwise she would have certainly killed him." He said the last part somewhat sadly.

It was somewhat understandable that she would want revenge on the White Fury after their last meeting. The dragon had not only invaded her mind but use her memories of her Uncle Finn and her own guilt to reduce her to a pile of shame. Had Hiccup not intervened, the dragon would have mauled her when she let her guard down.

Not to mention the fact that she had shed some tears, much to Hiccup's surprise, as the dragon made her think he was dead. And to later find out she cried in front of a dragon for nothing made her angerand desire for vengeance reach unimaginable levels. She showed this, as she tried to behead the Fury at every opening she got.

Toothless cooed in understanding and concern. He understood that his rider and best friend was a misfit among the Vikings; after all, he was the only kind-hearted one there, and even though they mistreated the little hatchling until recently, his rider was still wary about leaving. He also knew how much Hiccup wanted to protect both the dragons and the teens from harm during his Dragon Training, so it was obvious that the teen would rather win than allow the White Fury to be hurt.

Hiccup patted his head, glad that Toothless would hear and comfort him whenever he needed. The dragon was incredibly smart, even when compared to his cousin, the White Fury. The Night Fury understood why he was reluctant to leave Berk, but why he also wanted to. Sometimes Hiccup really wondered if whoever had come up with the idea that dragons were mindless beasts wasn't drunk, or nuts.

"Well. I don't know why I am complaining..." he said chuckling slightly, much to Toothless' surprise. "Everyone would be happy if I left. The village wouldn't have to deal with my destruction, Dad wouldn't have to deal with me being a disappointing heir and Astrid would have the spotlight back on her, no longer being second to Useless on Training." He said with a self-depreciated tone, while looking back at how things used to be before his fluked situation on Dragon Training started.

"You'll be safe, and I'll be with you, just like we wanted," he said, looking on the bright side of the situation. Toothless couldn't help but croon in agreement, seemingly excited at the prospect of being near him all the time. "The only one that I think that would miss me is Gobber" Hiccup continued, "He was sort of like a father to me, and my only friend all those years. Maybe I should leave him a note or something like that…" After a pause he added, "maybe to Astrid too." The dragon snorted on hearing the girl's name.

"Yes, I know we aren't friends anymore. I think she doesn't even care about me anymore, if her attitude toward me recently is anything to go by. But I don't know. I still care for her; I want her to be happy after I leave. Maybe I could even leave a note to Dad to make her chief when she comes of age. Snotlout would just be the downfall of Berk anyway…"

The dragon chuckled, earning a smile from Hiccup, "And she would regain the honor her family lost long ago." Hiccup reasoned, earning a huff from Toothless as he was annoyed that his rider, even though running away, was still thinking of the Vikings.

Both dragon and human failed to notice a blond hiding behind a rock outside the Cove, breathing deeply while too many emotions for her to handle flowed through her. She had been following him, and almost lost his trail doing so. She had planned on going down and confronting him, but when he began speaking, Astrid decided to hide and eavesdrop instead.

She closed her eyes, trying to deal with her emotions, as a thousand voices screamed inside her head, each telling her different things. First and foremost she was feeling lost. Having spent the last ten years pretending to have a frozen heart made her unable to properly deal with feelings. And now, to make things worse, she didn't even know what she was feeling. What should she even feel?

Feel angry that he had clamied her spotlight through a fluke?

Feel betrayed that he had chosen to side with the very beasts that killed hundreds of Vikings, that had dismembered his own mentor twice, that had killed her Uncle, and even his mother?

Feel ashamed that, by focusing solely on her training, she became a cold, distant person, a person who didn't deserve any of the concern he held for her?

Feel sad that probably the only one that truly cared about her and did not see her as a prize wanted to leave, partially because he thought she wouldn't care?

Feel guilty that his willingness to leave was partially because of her, although the other teens were probably also responsible for that?

Feel happy that, with him gone, everything would be better? No more destruction caused by the nuisance, she would be again the top student again; she could even become heir and have restored her family's honor.

She felt like she should run and expose Hiccup's treachery, uncover his Dragon Training fluke and reclaim her spot; expose his siding with a dragon and betrayal of his tribe. Another part wanted to go down and ask him if this was how he saw her, if distancing from him changed his vision regarding herself. A small part wanted to stop him from running away, since that part knew that, if Snotlout ever became chief, it would be the downfall of the village, should Stoick not approve the idea of her becoming the heir. That part also clearly saw that he had the brains to be Chief, and that, if Stoick married him to someone strong, Hiccup could lead well the village.

A lone tear fell from her widened eyes and travelled her cheek briefly before she heard the flapping of wings. She turned and stood, only to meet the sight of dragon and rider getting smaller and more distant. She would have screamed his name if her throat didn't feel so closed that it was almost suffocating her. Even after all those years, he still cared for her, even if she didn't. And the surprise of seeing Hiccup on the back of a dragon left her speechless.

He cared enough that he thought she would make a better heir than him. However, now that he left, she doubted that he would put in motion this idea. She knew he wasn't thinking about this while looking exclusively at the tribe's future, but was also looking at her family's honor. She had distanced herself from him to focus on training to restore that honor and because of his un-Viking attitude he would only have been a distraction.

But now she saw that the only friend she ever had -sure the teens hanged out with her, but this was either out of fear or awe rather than true friendship, or in Snotlout's case, out of the desire to impress her- the only one that had comforted her when she had lost her Uncle Finn to the Flightmare almost a decade ago, the only one that saw her as more than just a prize, was gone. And she had been too focused on Training to even realize that he had saved her when they first met the deceptive Fury.

She didn't have the heart anymore to expose him to Stoick, even though he has already left. It wasn't like he was all wrong about leaving. Sure he had befriended the enemy; he had cheated at the Training and now deserted his tribe. Sure he deserved the Blood Eagle and be punished for betraying her and their tribe. Sure he deserved a kick in the groins for taking her place as best Trainee, only to leave later.

A thought had stopped her from doing so: was he all wrong? It was clear that Gobber's friendship with him had not been enough to take away the feeling of being an outcast, since he even went as far as befriending the enemy. He wasn't dumb either, if how he had bested her at the arena and his concern regarding the chiefdom was anything to show, or that he had managed to approach,and even ride, a dragon without being mauled. It was crystal clear to her that he hadn't had this idea all of a sudden, and even that he might have left before if he had had the means to do it, or maybe it was only a matter of time before something finally pushed him to leave.

It was also clear he never let go of losing her friendship, never stopped caring about her, even if she ignored him. He had never moved on from losing it and probably had never forgotten the pain she had had once she had heard of her Uncle's demise and the tainted honor her family's name earned because of it. And from what she heard he had never given up on trying helping her restore that honor, even if she was blind to it.

Her warrior instincts instantly kicked in as she heard the flapping wings getting closer. She dropped to the ground and hid, her hand already on the handle of her axe. The axe that she found out he had forged after she had nearly broken her mother's, and that he kept a secret for fear of being lashed out at and rejected as always. He had carefully made it, doubtlessly considering her fighting style and physic. It was rather unsettling to think that he observed her just like Bork must have observed a dragon when studying one of them.

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**_ANIII: a rather short chapter, considering my target is usually 2K+ chapters. But, I wanted to finish the first chapter on a cliffhanger. Before anyone asks if this is a Hiccelsa fanfiction, like most of the crossovers, I'll just answer. I don't know. While no pairing is left out (Hiccstrid, Heathercup and Hiccelsa, perhaps even Hiccanna) I have yet to progress this story to the point that I'll have decided who I'll pair with Hiccup_**

**_Credits to R2-M0 for... Well, countless things. His fanfiction is what inspired me into finally venturing on the Frozen universe. His utmost support is priceless and he has more than once helped me write this fiction. He is not exactly a co-writer, but more of a co-thinker, and is thanks to him that this fiction lives. Not to mention I am very thankful that he gave his permission for me to use his work as a canon._**

**_About the updates, since my main focus is still How to Become a Dragon Chief, more recently a one-shot being written with the help of Kate Carpenter (another brilliant writer whose work I recommend) I cannot guarantee that this fiction will have a scheduled updating, unlike my other work._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_AN: Hello again fellow readers. I must admit that I'm quite surprised at the 12 favs and follows this fic has, with only one chapter published. Moving on, some people told me Hiccup was a bit too emotional about the leaving thing. To be honest with you all, the biggest flaw I saw on the first HTTYD movie was the lack of any feelings when Hiccup was leaving. It's understandable that it wasn't the focus, but still, he was leaving his family, home and (few) friends to possibly never see them again. It's no easy thing to do, and I thought of addressing it in this fic since it is technically a runaway Hiccup fic._**

**_ANII: for those looking straight to see Hiccup and Elsa meet, this will take a while. I want him to leave in a proper way from Berk so I can bring it back (waaaaaaaay) later in the story, and also introduce Windwalker properly (since probably not all of you are reading How to Become a Dragon Chief) as he will be an important character later. If you wish though, I can make longer chapters so the wait for Hiccup and Elsa to meet is shortened, but that's up to you all. Send me a PM or leave a review if you want longer chapters for that._**

**_ANIII: and lastly, I am sorry for the long wait to publish anything. I'm currently facing a writer's block (being sick didn't help much either). I promise I'll update my other fic within this week._**

**_And now, without further ado:_**

"The ship we saw heading towards here was from Trader Johann. I should buy from him some maps, since that would ease our travel. And some paper to make those notes. I could use trade the hammer I did to dad a while ago using my custom method. And maybe even forge some sort of goodbye gift to Astrid and Gobber using this method since we came back." He reasoned with the dragon, which seemed to be very agitated as it was pacing around. Toothless just shook his head at hearing the last part. Not believing the stubbornness of his rider.

The dragon then stopped, huffed, but nodded. "Don't worry bud; we'll be leaving today no matter what. But we really need those maps…" She didn't stay to hear the rest of it as she ran straight into her home. She was lucky that everyone was in the Great Hall celebrating Hiccup's victory because they would have seen her silently shedding a tear or two.

She slammed the door of her bedroom and sat on her bed. She was no longer crying, but inside her was a storm of feelings.

"That idiot, I can't believe him. He befriends a dragon, he wants to desert, he cheats, even leaving he thinks about the tribe…" she snarled to herself. She didn't continue though, as it dawned on her why hiccup really was running away.

He wanted to leave because he didn't want to disappoint his tribe anymore. He wanted to make her an heir because he was thinking about the tribe and her. He was doing all of those things because he was thinking of the tribe, perhaps even because he was tired of being mocked. 'He wasn't thinking about the tribe when he befriended that beast' a part of her thought.

'Then again, he wouldn't need to befriend it if his tribe didn't outcast him in the first place' a bitter voice added, recalling the many times he 'helped' on a raid, and was lashed out later. 'If you didn't outcast him' it added venomously. She never even tried to stand up for him, even if both had just wanted to kill a dragon; only he was trying to with a different approach. Astrid gritted her teeth and held her head with both hands. She felt like she was torn in two. She didn't know if she loathed the boy or respected him, if she should expose him or apologize. If she should let him leave or drag him and beat some sense in him.

While she passed the afternoon thinking about what should she do, or if she should try anything to stop him, Hiccup spent doing some sort of leather jacket to protect from the cold should he ever go north. His fur coat wouldn't be able to handle to cold air when they were flying, and would hinder their flight. He was almost done when word passed that Johann arrived.

Wrapping the hammer in a cloth, he waited until Johann had few customers so there wasn't anyone to question him or see the hammer. But, in reality, he just didn't want to be overwhelmed again because of his success in Dragon Training. Looking through the forge's window, he saw most people coming from the docks, carrying different items they probably traded.

He wasn't worried that anyone had bought those maps, since it wasn't a commodity Vikings looked for. Of course he didn't know that Astrid went to Johann and tried to buy the maps he had, but didn't have anything more to offer than her axe. Even though she wanted to stop him from leaving, she refused to sell her armored spikes that her Uncle left for her. Because of her hall's tainted honor, they weren't exactly wealthy, and she wouldn't dare trading anything that wasn't hers.

When he approached the docks, he met Johann about to leave. It was a good signal though; it meant the Trader must have dealt with almost everyone in the village (except for Hiccup himself) and that there would be no one around them. When the Trader saw Hiccup, he stopped removing the ropes. "Ah Hiccup my lad, I was thinking you wouldn't come after all. Whatever you're looking, I can assure you that I have it." He said in that enthusiastic tone.

Hiccup smiled. Johann was always friendly to him, especially because he bought things Viking didn't buy and sold him things Vikings didn't sell; mostly small inventions of his, like the spy glass. He could be annoying sometimes when he tried to tell Hiccup one of his stories, but besides that he was always fond of the trader. Like Gobber, Johann looked at his contraptions with wonder instead of skepticism.

"Sorry for being late, I was at the forge" Hiccup sheepishly apologized, "I was hoping you would have some paper. And some maps." Johann eyed him a bit confused. While asking for paper was usual from him, and ink from the colossal squid Johann himself wrested (or so the trader says), asking for maps was unusual at the very least. Besides it usually was a Chief of the tribe that requested maps to trade and Johann suspected it wasn't for Stoick since the man himself would have requested if he wanted so.

"Well, you're lucky." The trader answered, deciding to wait questioning Hiccup later, "A lass came asking for the maps, though she didn't have anything valuable enough to trade for it. I hope you'll have it then?" Hiccup froze, barely paying any heed to Johann's question. 'Who else would be looking for maps besides him?' he thought. He decided to play along to try to find out who is 'she'.

"Well… I believe I do have something valuable enough to trade." He spoke as he un-wrapped the cloth from around the hammer and showed it to Johann. The man's eyes widened as they also lit up looking at the shiny hammer. It was the first time the man saw a weapon Hiccup himself had forged, and how the craftsmanship looked so good surprised the Trader.

"I forged it mixing Gobber's technique with one I have read from some of the books you traded with me. It's twice as lighter as and 3 times stronger than a normal one." he gave to Johann so the man could compare with a hammer he had on his ship. While Johann didn't have your normal Viking build, he still could pick up swords easily, and 'wrest a colossal squid to have Hiccup's ink' as he liked to tell. He wasn't just as beefy as, say, his father or Gobber.

Johann was amazed that the lad was right about the weight, but still doubted about the strength of it. "Well, if you doubt about the strength, I guess you could try the Viking test" Hiccup suggest somewhat shyly, as he crossed his arms trying to look confident. It wasn't that he feared being wrong, but his request would result in a damaged good, something not good for Johann. The Viking test consisted of slamming a new weapon with the owned one and select whichever was least damaged. That way, it would have a lower risk of being damaged beyond use on the battlefield.

Johann thought about it as he picked a hammer from his storage and held both hammers, looking at them. If the lad was being honest, though he didn't recall a single time Hiccup tried to fool or lie to him, this hammer would be worth a fortune trading with any chief of the Archipelago. That also meant that if he did the test he would have a damaged good, which is bad for his business. Still, the value of Hiccup's hammer would far outweigh the loss of a common hammer to trade.

"We could try this" Hiccup began to suggest so he could disembroil the trader. Johann pried his eyes away from the hammers to hear the lad. He knew the boy always came up with a good solution. He didn't understand how the village didn't see how clever Hiccup was, but didn't question either; Stoick's hospitality was something he would never take granted. Still, Johann always thought that the boy would have been a great trader if he chose to be one.

"This is the only hammer I forged. And considering its properties I know it would be a very valuable item to you trade as it would also be unique" 'damn the boy is clever, it'll be tougher to trade it now' his trading side thought. While he was an honest trader, he knew that trading the real value of the hammer would be very costly to him, surely costing more than just a couple of maps and papers.

"So you do the test. If the other hammer is badly damaged to the point it wouldn't be a tradable good you could trade it with me, along with the maps and the papers. I could fashion something out of it to give you next time we meet." He smiled hearing the clever suggestion. Even though the boy could just ask to trade it together, he wanted to compensate Johann. Sometimes he thought Hiccup was too generous for his own good.

"I'll be honest with you lad. You're a clever boy; you don't need to compensate it if you're speaking the truth about its strength. To be honest your hammer would worth a lot more than just some maps." Hiccup nodded, he knew very much that. "But since you want to, I accept the deal." He looked back at the hammers and smashed them together.

Hiccup chuckled a little at the awed, jaw-dropped expression Johann had when the common hammer almost broke in two when it came in contact with Hiccup's, while his had barely a scratch on it. The normal one had a huge crack, travelling through the entire head of the hammer. Probably if he dropped the hammer, it would break in two.

When he came out of the trance, he gave Hiccup the broken hammer. "Well, you were speaking the truth. You did your part. Wait a second while I bring what you want lad." And with that Johann went to his cabin to take what Hiccup requested and safely guard his newest merchandise. It's not like any Viking would try to steal from him, but he always thought its better be safe than sorry.

He came back shortly after holding a small chest, probably no larger than two feet. Hiccup put down the hammer to open it and check if everything was in place. "Well. Everything is in there. I also gave you an ink pot from the colossal squid I wrested as a gift." He was a bit surprised when he saw the pot among the maps and papers. It was rare for him to receive a gift from someone, hence why he had been so surprised when his father gave him a Viking helmet (more like breast helmet, as he recalled the vast man telling him the origins of said helmet).

"You didn't need Johann." He said, smiling at the trader while closing the chest. Johann returned the smile; he liked the lad very much. And since he was pretty much the only one to ask for him, might as well give him what he has left.

"Nonsense; your hammer is worth a lot more than what you're asking me for. You're a good lad, you deserve it. You would turn out a good trader." Hiccup thanked the compliments a bit sheepishly, after all this was one of the few times someone praised his skills. If only he really was the best in Dragon Training… "Now lad, if there's no problem, would you care to tell me why of the maps?" he asked out of curiosity, making Hiccup stiffen slightly. He didn't consider that Johann would ask what he would do with those maps.

Hiccup tried to think of a way to dismiss that. After a couple of silent seconds, an idea dawned on his head. He figured he could speak part of the truth, but also saw this as an opportunity to know who asked for the maps. "I answer you and you answer a question for me, how that sounds to you?" Hiccup suggested, hoping the Trader would agree. Hiccup was eager to know who had been looking for the maps earlier. It was odd that someone would look for them the same day he would.

Johann gave a thought for Hiccup's suggestion and eventually deemed it fair; after all he had no business in whatever Hiccup wanted to do with these maps and the same could be said to the boy regarding the Trader's own business. "It seems fair to me. You answer my question and I'll answer yours." He answered.

Hiccup agreed, already knowing what to say. He was thankful Johann took his time to give him an answer, since it allowed Hiccup to think what he would say if the man agreed with him. "Well… I was planning on doing a little trip. Soon I'll be chief-in-training so I wanted to explore the Archipelago before it." '…and avoid killing a Nightmare' he completed inside his head. Johann agreed; a trip around the Archipelago would give more wisdom to the heir.

"Well thought. You would toughen up and gather more wisdom visiting other places. Now, what it is that you wanted to ask me?" he asked the lad, holding his part of the deal as the boy held his own.

"Well. Since I had that planned it a while ago, I wanted to know who came asking the maps. It would have hindered my plans if I didn't get those maps." When Johann eyed him a little confused to why this mattered, but he could see the point of the lad. If he planned travelling, going without maps would be certainly risky; the possibility of getting lost after a storm would be tremendously huge. Not to mention the chance of going astray from his course because of a rogue dragon attack.

"Well. It would have indeed. I am lucky to have faced very few dragon attacks during my travels. Though I know of friends that did not have such luck, but still managed to keep within course because they had maps to guide them." he commented. "I presume I must do my part of the deal. It was a blond lass, carrying an axe and shoulder pads. I think it was Astrid her name. Seemed the warrior type, it would do you nice to have her with you in your journey Hiccup." He suggested, oblivious of their current relationship or Hiccup's secret crush on her.

He froze, panic rising inside him, though Johann didn't notice. 'Why would Astrid need those maps? I doubt she was planning on travelling, not with Dragon Training. Did she know I plan to leave? Or about Toothless?' he asked himself. He made a mental note to be quicker so the odds that she would stop him would decrease. If she really knew his intentions, then it would be only a matter of time before she stopped him.

"Thank you Johann. I'll give a thought to that. Safe travels to you." He said when he left the ship. Johann was already setting sail to leave Berk. "Safe travels to you too lad. Perhaps we can share stories in the future once we meet again." Johann said before he was out of earshot.

He continued waving while holding the small chest in one of his arms. While it was heavy, he also had enough strength to hold it. Some for working in the forge for years, some he gained in Dragon Training and some because Toothless liked to play with him, often trying to pin him down to cover up him with saliva. He grabbed the hammer with his free hand once Johann was nothing but a small dot on the ocean and immediately went to the forge as fast as possible.

He didn't see a young blond warrior peeking out of the corner of a hut, shocked, amazed, angry and, most of all, terrified of what just transpired before her own eyes. Not only had her plan failed, since Hiccup had the maps as he originally planned, but Johann also told the boy it had been her who looked for the maps earlier, meaning Hiccup would try to leave as fast as possible.

**_ANIV: I always saw Hiccup as an strategist, so I doubt he would leave Berk unprepared. And by the look of the Series he and Johann seems to have a friendly relationship, most probably due to Hiccup's unusual merchandise he both seeks and trades with Johann, hence why I decided to include the Trader here. As for Hiccup and Astrid's childhood friendship I have the following theory, considering some hints of the movie and series: Astrid became the cold, always striving to be the best warrior after her uncle was killed by the Flightmare, and considering Snotlout's ranting, I guessed that few people really showed that they cared about her due to her family's tainted honor. Hiccup, meanwhile probably began his apprenticeship when he was around the same age to which Astrid lost her uncle. Before that they probably were friends, since children at such age tend to be, before they drifted apart. As the years passed by and it became clear that Hiccup was different, he must have dwelled further into blacksmithing to make up for it, driving him and Astrid further away. There's a scene right after her shoots Toothless down in which she looks at him rather pitiful, which means that she cares about him, probably a trace of their long lost friendship. Also the way she was harsh with him at Dragon Training seemed very similar to how Stoick was harsh, and both characters are not very good at communicating with words._**

**_And usual, reviews are much appreciated. Any thoughts, suggestions and constructive criticisms are very welcome. For any of you wondering about romantic pairings (Hiccstrid, Hiccelsa, Hiccanna, and even Heathercup) I have not drafted that far so as of now I have no pairings in mind._**

**_Until next time!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_AN: hello fellow readers and welcome again to another chapter of How to Let It Go. I must say I'm incredibly happy at the attention this fic was been receiving, both in numbers of favorites and followers, as well as in the number of reviews. While I promised that I would update this fic at least within a month (and so far manage to do so) I'll try to update slightly faster. While I couldn't uphold my promise of updating How to Become a Dragon Chief weekly, that fic is nearly finished, meaning that, once finished, I'll be able to focus more on this fic and therefore update it more frequently._**

**_As always reviews and constructive criticism is much appreciated. For those wondering when HTTYD and Frozen will meet, I can tell that it'll be soon. These first few chapter are somewhat a prologue, to which I introduce characters that will appear later in the story_**

**_Without further ado:_**

**_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._**

He went quickly to the forge to store what he bought. Before he could finish his gear, or the gifts, he needed to speak to his father about the chiefdom. Since he came back, he decided to put this crazy idea in motion; it wasn't like he had anything to lose after all. It would also prevent Astrid from chasing him down if she knew he was leaving, since his father would have her shadowing him in the following days.

She stalked Hiccup, not feeling ready to confront him. She saw him enter the forge, and was about to enter it when she saw him come out. She quickly ducked behind a house and watched as he walked toward the hall. What frightened her was the serious expression he had on his face, one she had never seen on him before. She wondered if all of this change from the clumsy, distracted nuisance came from the dragon, or if Hiccup really was this clever person but no one had given him a chance to show this.

He entered the hall determined, although also nervous. He was more or less ready for the burst of attention he would receive, since this has been happening for a couple of days before they returned from the Nest hunt; and he hoped his father didn't drink enough to render the conversation useless. When he opened the doors everyone stopped to look at him and cheered.

"Look who it is" he still wasn't used to the fact that no longer when someone directed this sentence to him it was with disappointment, but rather with excitement.

"The Dragon Slayer" he flinched, though no one noticed (probably they were drunk already. Vikings never miss a chance to get drunk after all). Had someone told him that before he met Toothless, he would have jumped in ecstasy, but now he was exactly the opposite of a Dragon Slayer - he was a Dragon Rider.

"Berk's prodigy" he chuckled slightly, trying to think of how Astrid would be fuming, since this had been her title until he began 'improving' on Dragon Training. He felt slightly guilty that he illegitimately took her place as Berk's prodigy. There was a time he would have liked the spot, since it would mean she would no longer look at him pitifully or be harsh with him; but now he only wanted that she would have her spot back so all this attention would go away.

To be honest, now that he knew how it was to be on spot, he could say he preferred to be on the shadows. Whereas it felt good that, whenever someone looked at him now, it wasn't with fear that he would blow up something when trying to help or with disappointment because he didn't meet their standards, it also made it harder to carry on his projects or keep something secret.

Before he could roam freely the village and build up contraptions or draw designs without anyone 'interrupting' him. Now he couldn't walk two steps away from his house without someone coming to him and trying to praise him, or learn one of his secrets.

"Our future chief" he cringed when he heard that comment. Whoever said that would be very disappointed if he held a successful conversation with his father today. Not only because of that, but also for the fact that, until now, he never thought he would actually be chief one day, and he guessed that neither did his father.

When he approached Stoick, the man saw him and beamed, like if he had just met Odin himself. "Hiccup, my son, come join us on the celebration!" he boomed, lifting a mug, probably filled with mead.

When he got close to his father, he whispered, loud enough only to Stoick hear. "Dad, can we talk?" he asked a bit shyly, his confidence faltering at the sight of the huge man. It was inevitable that this would happen; years of being scolded by him impregnated on Hiccup that his father would only look at him disappointed. The man looked at him confused, and a little startled at the serious tone, but didn't notice the sad look that briefly washed his son's face.

"Why, of course Hiccup. What you want to talk about?" he gestured so the boy would sit, but Hiccup did not move, nor changed his determined expression. Hearing his father say he was ready to listen to his son built up Hiccup's confidence back and, unlike last time, he would say what he had to say (and hope his father would listen).

"C-could we speak in private if possible. I want to talk about the chiefdom." Stoick was completely caught off. While before he would have used this moment to suggest Hiccup would not be chief after him, now he felt Hiccup would be an ever better chief than himself. Still, even before or now, he was surprised since the boy never showed an interest in chiefdom and now suddenly wanted to talk about it.

To be honest since he began to think about talking to Hiccup about the chiefdom he was a bit afraid of how his son would react. Even if he is faring well in Dragon Training they still never spoke about this subject. Stoick's father had first addressed him about this the day he completed 12 and earned his Viking helmet (who was later exchanged for a helmet made of Valka's breastplate) and Hiccup was almost 15 and they still didn't talk about it. To hear from his son that he wanted to talk about it made Stoick light up with pride.

"Alright." He nodded to the boy before addressing the Hall. "Hiccup wishes to speak with me in private. Celebrate for us for now, we'll rejoin it later" and the people cheered, more than happy to celebrate for the chief and his son. It was clear to him that most of the Hall had already a good dose of the mead. He was fortunate to get his father before the man also had his good share of drinking the liquid. Or maybe his father already had, but because of his large build, he wasn't drunk yet.

Both men walked side-by-side, leaving the Hall and toward the chief's house. Astrid was hidden behind a pillar, eyes very wide and with fear, as she saw they leave the Hall. She quietly left her hideout, praising the Gods that the teens didn't find her. It would be hard to keep focused at the task ahead with them on her tail. She suspected they were on the Great Hall, celebrating as well. It was customary of a Viking to being drinking during his teen's years, but neither Hiccup nor Astrid enjoyed a lot the mead.

Hiccup didn't fancy the drinking since, as an outcast, he didn't have many people to drink with. With the exception of Gobber, there was no one else to share a mug of mead, thus discouraging him about creating a drinking habit. For Astrid, instead, she saw drinking as a distraction; something that would hinder both her focus on dragon killing and her training. Therefore, just like with everything else that could mess with her training, she pushed the drinking habit aside. While she would drink a mug of mead, she, unlike the rest of the gang, would never get drunk

She waited until both of them entered the house to eavesdrop. Since everyone was celebrating while the chief was away, she wasn't afraid of being found out eavesdropping in a private conversation between the chief and his son. Instead she was afraid of what she would hear, mainly from the boy. She briefly thought on barraging in and exposing Hiccup, but she wanted to see how far he had this thing planned.

Stoick sat on his chair while Hiccup grabbed one to place in front of his father. To say Stoick was a bit uneasy was little. The man was both anxious and happy that Hiccup decided to finally talk to him seriously, given his unchanging expression. Stoick even felt a bit small when Hiccup met his eyes fiercely, he couldn't remember the boy ever doing that. Then again, he didn't remember having a conversation with the boy, besides the usual scowling after he destroyed a house or two with his inventions…

"Well son, you said you wanted to talk about the chiefdom. What do you wanted to say about it?" he asked, curious to hear whatever was on the boy's mind. He was never one to beat around the bush with any matter, so it was only natural that Stoick would suck up his anxiety and go straight to the point with Hiccup.

"I want you to make Astrid the heir to the tribe" he spoke seriously, though inside he was boiling in fear at how his father would react. Even to him, the idea of changing the lineage of the tribe's chief was as crazy as facing a Night Fury unarmed. If not crazier, considering his father could scare him more than the offspring of lighting and death itself.

"WHAT?" Stoick yelled in astonishment. Hiccup couldn't help but flinch, since it was the sound he used every time he screwed up. Old habits die hard. Outside, Astrid had fallen flat on her butt, completely taken off and startled at the shout. She didn't hear what Hiccup said, but after hearing Stoick's signature voice, she could easily assume what the boy had just spoken.

"Just hear me out, at least once in your life" he tried to soothe his father, though he already regretted the poor choice of words. He never meant to hurt his father, therefore never saying that, but he risked coming back to the village to settle this, so his fear was overcome by determination on not wasting more time than he already did. He knew he had accidentally hurt his father by seeing the vast man flinch.

Stoick was about to ask what kind of rock hit Hiccup's head when the boy said that. He flinched a little, seeing the truth behind those words. Only now he could see that in fact he never heard his son before. And since Hiccup kept his end of the deal, he might as well start listening to the boy. He also only remembered at this moment that he had to give to Hiccup his first Viking helmet. He made a mental note to do so before Hiccup faced the Nightmare.

He calmed himself and evened his breath to hear him. "Ok, I hope you'll explain why you want that" he said in a normal tone, but also demanding an explication. After all, Hiccup was basically asking to forfeit his duties as heir, something that some tribes would consider an act of treason, and therefore, punished by either death or banishment. The Meatheads tribe was an example, since Thuggory's grandfather banished his son before naming Thuggory's father was elated. His father was finally hearing him. He felt a pang of guilt that he would be leaving shortly after, even if he just achieved what he spent 10 years trying to. But alas his fate was already sealed the moment he won Dragon Training. He would need to come up with an explanation later to why he left, or even forge his own death. Maybe the former, since his father would probably be devastated if 'he died', even though the later would be easier to do.

"Well dad…" he began rather sheepishly. Even if Stoick was listening to him, his appearance alone was enough to intimidate Hiccup. "I-I can't stop but to think the whole Dragon Training is a burst of luck the Gods gave me." And he held a hand up before Stoick could protest. He sighed before closing his mouth and pinched the bridge of his nose. After a moment of silence (Where Hiccup was almost thinking his father gave up on listening to him) Stoick vaguely gestured for him to continue explaining, much to Hiccup's surprise.

"I'm also more qualified as a blacksmith. If anything happens to Gobber, I would be the only one capable of running the forge. I also don't think he'll take another apprentice any time soon. And I still feel people wouldn't take me seriously as a chief," he said, finally his serious expression turning into a sad one as he averted his gaze from his father. It was no mystery to either man that Hiccup was referring about how the village and even Stoick looked at him every time he tried to help on a raid.

Stoick felt a bit sad hearing this. He wanted to protest, but also saw the truth in those words. Still, as he was stubborn (Vikings do have, after all, stubbornness issues) he protested. "But Hiccup. You're excelling at Dragon Training. You'll kill your first dragon tomorrow. Why wouldn't people take you seriously?" although he had a hunch of what would Hiccup say. The way his son averted his eyes from him was more than enough to answer that question.

"Dad… You know very well that leading a tribe well is not measured by someone's fighting abilities. Snotlout, for instance, is a great warrior" - he laughed mentally at the idea, even the Twins were better than his cousin. They had to be, otherwise how could they cause so much destruction on the village and headache to his father? - "But we both know he wouldn't be fit to lead the tribe" his expression was serious again.

Stoick chuckled; his boy was speaking the truth. His nephew might be a good warrior, but the lack of brains would bring the downfall of the village. "True. While he is strong, the boy seriously has a lack of brains to lead the village. Even Spitelout knows this and he's his father for Odin's sake." he said, agreeing with Hiccup while laughing at this. He barely held himself from saying that they were afraid of Snotlout leading the tribe because they thought Hiccup wasn't fit, given his… hiccups.

Hiccup laughed with his father. 'I wasn't the only one to notice this' he noted proudly, before another pang of guilt came to him. He couldn't remember the last time he shared a laugh with his father, or even if they ever shared one at all. But he knew he should do what he planned, he knew that these moments were counted, and his luck was running out. He already had the maps, and already told his father about this idea. Hiccup only needed to convince the vast man and then nothing would be between him and his departure with Toothless.

"Still Hiccup, you're my only heir. We can't just change from all of a sudden the lineage on our village. And why would you want to give her the heirloom?" Stoick protested, dying to know why. He understood Hiccup was right, that some people might not take him seriously, but, unlike what most would think, he didn't believe this was the only reason behind this odd request.

Hiccup stiffened as he noticed his father wasn't buying the whole 'they won't believe on me' excuse. He was starting to think that he should tell his father he planned on travelling; this way the vast man wouldn't go out looking for him after he went missing. "I…" he began and Stoick leaned forward to carefully listen to him, "I thought she would be the most qualified of the six of us. And… it would help her restore the honor to her hall…" he said a bit quietly the last part.

Stoick felt his heart beat faster, and a pang of pain stab through it as if someone just hit him with a dagger. He couldn't believe Hiccup would forfeit the heirloom so the Hofferson lass could restore the tainted honor the Hoffersons have since the Flightmare incident. Still, he couldn't bring himself to admit that he was afraid of losing his son to Gobber if he complied. He had never been good at showing emotions to his son unfortunately.

"I'm not trading you for Gobber if that's what you're thinking" Hiccup spoke, almost if he read Stoick's mind, "but my mind is already set. Besides, Astrid is both a fierce and a smart warrior. People look at her with respect. The teens look at her as a sort of leader when they are putting out the fires during the raids. Her life was always about protecting the village, and no one would doubt her position as chief. And Gobber would be more than happy to have me help him. His prosthesis can be somewhat cumbersome every now and them." he explained.

"People would still remember my past screw ups, even if I'm excelling at Dragon Training." He reminded, and Stoick sadly nodded; he was one of those people. "Gobber also needs my help every time we have a raid. I have thought a lot about that, believe me. I also know woman have already led this tribe before, so it wouldn't be a foreign concept to the tribe accept a female leader." Hiccup panted a little, he spoke nonstop and ran out of breath. He had to, before his confidence faltered again.

"Besides, I think I'd be more helpful as a blacksmith. Maybe I could even build some muscles if I keep working there." he spoke sarcastically, unbeknown to the fact that it had been exactly for this that Stoick put him into blacksmith apprenticeship a decade ago. The man felt his heart twist at seeing how he accidentally damaged Hiccup's confidence all those years ago.

Stoick, meanwhile, was also trying to analyze every word his son spoke, to find a flaw, to argue that his son was wrong and that he should be a leader and stay. But he found none. He also felt pride in himself seeing how his son was thinking about the tribe, putting the other's needs before his, that he wanted to grow past this scrawny Viking that he was and had obviously thought carefully about the matter. To the vast man, it was a far cry to when Hiccup was recklessly testing his inventions, causing a lot of collateral damage in the village.

"I see… Well, to give you credit, your actions just reflect the ones of a true leader. How you thought carefully and seriously about the matter, and are putting their needs before yours. Not only that but I'm proud of how you want to be like one of us." He spoke with pride, smiling when he saw Hiccup a bit shy. Unfortunately he misunderstood Hiccup's shyness, just like he misunderstand his son as a whole

Hiccup smiled, but his eyes didn't meet his father's. He felt a bit uncomfortable with the compliments, and couldn't bring himself to argue with his father since it would only hinder his arguments. He wanted to leave exactly because he really didn't want to be one of them; he knew well he could never be. The forge was just an excuse for Astrid to be heir. He would later leave a note his father wouldn't be heartbroken with the abrupt departure. "Well, thanks dad. If it eases your mind, I could always be second-in-command, like Uncle Spitelout is with you." He suggested, although more lightly than before.

Stoick chuckled, even though the boy had been serious and was a champion, he was still shy. He hoped that, in the future, he would have more conversations like this. He felt warmth he didn't feel for a long time, not since he lost Valka 14 years ago. "Or maybe I could marry you to Astrid. That way she could act like a chief and you would continue our lineage. She could train you and you wouldn't need to be a full time blacksmith." Stoick suggested, though it sounded more like a teasing. He wouldn't voice out that it was the last idea he had to keep Hiccup from ruining Stoick's dream of seeing his son ascend as chief.

Hiccup turned redder than a Nightmare at the idea. While it was obvious it was his dream to marry the blond warrior, it also made him fear for his life the simple idea of marrying Astrid. Mostly because it was likely that he would not survive their first night together. "I-I don't think that's a good idea" he weakly answered, "I'd feel safer passing a night with the Nightmare in the ring than with a married Astrid. We're not exactly buddies by now." He sarcastically commented.

Stoick sighed, rubbing his forehead. He had to agree with his son's point, as he had seen how Astrid was seething for not winning dragon training. Besides, he had decided to hear Hiccup after the boy spoke those words, and he seemed very fixed on this idea. His son's stubbornness almost reminded him of his wife…"All right son, if that's how you feel… You convinced me." He conceded in defeat. He had thought that his success in Dragon Training would make him be a good chief. It was saddening that Hiccup didn't want to follow his steps.

"I'll talk to Gobber later about you running the forge alone as a test. But I also want you shadowing me awhile to learn some of the duties of a chief before doing so. And if he says you're not capable of safely doing so then I'll be restoring your position as heir, so you'll need to know a bit about chiefdom, just to be sure." he added, not fully letting Hiccup go away from chiefdom.

Hiccup nodded, although he knew that would never happen. It was also getting dark, so he suggested: "Why don't you go announce that while everyone is celebrating? I need to finish a gift I was doing to Gobber at the forge, and I wanted to finish it today. I don't think there will be time for that in the following days." The boy suggested. Now that his father, unexpectedly, accepted the idea he could leave, and would do as fast as possible. He only needed to finish Gobber's gift and have his father away.

Stoick looked at him. He felt a bit disappointed the boy didn't want to go with him announce his decision. "I can also give Astrid a heads up so she won't be taken by surprise. I believe you'll want her shadowing you to learn the duties of a chief soon enough. It'll be a huge responsibility we're giving her after all." He added, trying to convince his father to let him go to the forge.

Stoick eventually complied. It would be quite a responsibility for the lass, so Hiccup, since he was the one that had the idea; he was the one that should talk to her beforehand. "All right, you find her and talk to her. I'll, meanwhile, go to the Hall announce your decision, though I'd be happy if you were at my side. I'll see later to speak with the lass' mother about this." he commented.

"I'll do my best" and with that Hiccup left the hut, missing the blond that had a completely shocked face for eavesdropping on their conversation. He ran toward the forge and, even though she wondered if he would tell her about that afterwards, she followed him, knowing what he was going to do. If she would confront him then she would have to do now; Hiccup had nothing left holding him back on Berk, and she wouldn't dare to expose him to Stoick, not after really hearing him practically name her heir of Berk.

He entered the forge and resumed his work. His leather jacket was finished; pockets in his arms to store paper to update his maps and a shelf to hold his dagger. He also had some pockets around the jacket to store some gold, herbs, and other things he could find during the trip. He also decided to make a hold for a short sword, almost the same size of Cami's twin swords. Since he would be out in the wild, he would need some sort of protection, as the idea of relying solely on Toothless to be safe did not bode well. He had an idea for a retractable sword, but it would need to wait.

He figured he would need to learn how to use it. He could use read some of those books about fighting techniques and pay people to train him while travelling or Toothless could also help him, so he made a covering case for the sword so he could non-lethally fight the dragon. Hiccup didn't want both of them to be entirely under Toothless' protection alone for a reason. If something (hopefully not) happened to the Night Fury, both of them would be defenseless, and he wouldn't exactly be able to bring Toothless to a village if he visited one.

He was almost finished with Astrid's axe when he heard someone enter the forge. Quickly covering the axe with cloth, he was more than grateful that he took his time to store each item he made inside his room. Last thing he wanted was to someone see anything that could hint he planned to leave. Besides, if the person was who he feared it would be then it was even better that he hid any indications of his intentions.

He turned only to be shocked to find Astrid inside the forge and have his fear skyrocket. He was more shocked that she didn't have her axe with her, or that rage-filled look she had earlier in the arena. In fact, her expression seemed unreadable to him, which was quite unusual when regarding the blond. He had to cough a bit so he could speak proper words. "Oh. Hi Astrid, hi Astrid, hi Astrid" he stammered nervously.

She smiled. She hadn't seen anything of the boy she knew today, so his shy attitude was almost a relief to her. That is until reality crashed on her again. "Hi Hiccup" she spoke softly, and had to hold a laugh at his dumb folded look. Unfortunately the urge to laugh quickly died down as she remembered why she came to the forge looking for him.

He quickly readjusted the cloth behind him so nothing of the axe would be visible. "So… is there anything you want?" he spoke, while finding the ground more interesting than her icy blue eyes (even though it was a complete lie that). He just couldn't face her without the possibility of ending up rambling away something he wanted to keep hidden (namely her newly forged axe, or anything regarding his planned trip).

"Yes, I wanted to speak with you" she spoke softly. She would try to be gentle so he wouldn't go away, before turning out to violence. Since it was violence that torn them apart and him apart from the tribe, she figured a different strategy was in need. Besides, she didn't have her axe at the moment, so she couldn't just go threatening him. She could beat him up in the blink of an eye, since she was stronger than Snotlout, but them it would not help her in convincing him to stay.

"Oh… you did?" he asked, taken aback that Fearless Astrid Hofferson, his long lost friend and currently seeking his head was talking softly to him, and wanted to have a conversation, unarmed. He thought she would just being to ask questions, to corner him and eye him like a vicious predator would eye a wounded prey trapped in a hunter's trap.

Still, when he settled himself with what was happening, he remembered what he told his father. "G-good. I also wanted to talk to you…" he spoke a bit nervous, still uneasy that Astrid wasn't lashing him out or looking at him with a deathly glare. "But go on, ladies first" he suggested. He decided to hear her first, even though last time he did this with someone he ended begrudgingly on Dragon Training and almost being crisped on the first day.

She smiled mentally; there was still some of the Hiccup she knew. She hoped she could get him to stay so she could amend her mistakes. "No, you go first. I assume it's important what you want to say." She spoke softly, though doing that was almost foreign to her, and was already taking quite the effort to do so. She grew herself up to be the cold, fierce Astrid Hofferson. To speak like her mother did when she was a toddler was…weird for Astrid at the very least.

He finally met her eyes. He noticed she was hiding something, as if she knew something, and that they weren't the common deathly glare she had. She didn't eye him for much long and, while she was fierce, she was by no way an actress. He made a mental note to be cautious with her. Even though she seemed soft now, she was still Astrid, who could beat him with little effort. And he didn't forget the murderous look she had when he won the right to kill the Nightmare. For that to suddenly change means that she saw something she shouldn't have seen…

"Well. I spoke to dad and I told him to name you heir" he blurted out so quickly that for a moment he was afraid she didn't understand him, but the shocked expression said otherwise. Hiccup found it a little odd it, as if she was faking being shocked; he didn't entirely buy it. 'Was she eavesdropping on us? Or stalking me? Did she also stalk me when I visited Toothless? But if she did, wouldn't she have told my father, or confronted me about it?' he asked himself, trying to calm the rising panic burbling inside him.

"Why did you do that Hiccup?"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

**_AN: well, i quite didn't expect for this scene to be so big that it would need to be split into two chapters. I guess a lot of people wondered how would Hiccup leave Berk since Astrid knew about Toothless. I thought about having him being banished, but that would have hindered the long-time ideas i have planned for this fic, and therefore requiring me to build up a convincing scenary of how he would leave. I wanted to explore a different way of how Hiccup left, and then i decided that Stoick's conversation with Hiccup after he arrived would never happen._**

**_ANII since the next chapter is pretty much already written, it'll be posted quicker than the usual. Since my country has ellections tomorrow, i think that i'll have it by Monday or Tuesday published. Let me know what you all thought about this change about how he leaves!_**

**_Until next time_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_AN: Hello, this is what you could call as the Part II of last chapter. I promised y'all that i would update either yesterday or before yesterday, but homework kept me from doing so. Please don't butcher me_**

**_Without further ado:_**

**_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._**

"Why did you do that Hiccup?" he noticed there was a bit of anger behind her curious tone. Dragon Master or not, she still spoke as if he was an idiot, he bitterly thought. This angered him a little inside; here he was just telling her she would be the next chief of Berk and she spoke like it was something bad. Well… it was only for him bad because the moment his father finally deemed him worthy of it he was living a secret life with a Night Fury, and would be forced to kill a dragon even though he sworn he would never do it.

"We both know you're better fit for leading than I." he retorted, a little too harshly. Hearing how harsh his voice came out he tried to speak again, this time softer, "Also, if anything happen to Gobber, I would be the only one able to manage the forge. It's the only thing I've been able to do properly" he said, trying to use the same serious tone he used with his father.

She knew it, and didn't buy. She wanted him to spill the guts about leaving. But not yet, she would wait the opportunity to confront him. "I see… but did you considered what would I think about that when you talked to your father about this? Did you consider if I would agree even?" she asked, trying to sound a bit offended. She was not offended though, after all it would be a huge honor to become chief, big enough to clean the tainted honor the Hoffersons had. Still, she had a point, and Astrid didn't think he wouldn't take into consideration that she could deny for being too pressuring the position as heir.

She wasn't good at acting; that much he noticed. He knew she was up to something, given how oddly she was talking, but decided to play along. She was sounding offended and he knew this would be the last thing she would feel if presented with the chance to be heir. "In fact I did. You would hold a prestigious position, restore your family honor that was lost since…" he didn't finish, instead vaguely gesturing. His gaze lowered from hers, and because of that, he missed the sad expression she had for a moment.

Before the silence could get awkward, he continued: "You also wouldn't need to be forcedly married, since your new position gives you certain…privileges. And we both know dad wouldn't force you into marriage either. Like it or not, your mom would eventually marry you, just like Ruffnut's mom will. Being the heir would allow you to choose rather than be chosen." His gaze was back on her to observe her expressions.

She gritted her teeth at the idea of marrying, but even more that the boy indeed thought of everything. She couldn't even find a flaw in his logic so it wasn't this way that she would corner the boy. It made sense to her that he would be clever. He befriended and saddled a Night Fury (it could only be, there was no other known dragon that is black as night) and managed to win over Stoick's stubbornness.

He smiled mentally. Whatever game Astrid was playing wasn't probably going on as she planned. He knew she gritted her teeth because his logics was practically flawless (or so he thought, and luckily, she too). He just wanted her to get off from him and let him leave; there was no point in being around anymore. Everything was settled already and the only thing he had to do was take his things, pack up and leave.

She decided to apologize to him instead. She had figured after what she heard at that cove that he did deserve it and there was no better time than this to do so. And seeing how he thought of absolutely everything made her wonder that if should circumstances had been different he would still have named her heir. Besides, he seemed to consider the fact that her family's honor was tainted because of the Flightmare incident and took into consideration it. Whether he was leaving or not, an apology was in order. A Viking knows when he makes a mistake and she was no different.

"Hiccup… I'm…I'm sorry…" the words were not in her vocabulary, at least not in that order, so it felt weird to speak them. She didn't miss, though, Hiccup's mouth agape expression. She giggled a little at the funny scene, although that was enough to get Hiccup back to reality and close his mouth, narrowing his previously widened eyes in both suspicious and confusion.

Feeling awkward that she did something very un-Astrid, she glared at him. Satisfied that he flinched, she continued: "I… misunderstood you. You clearly think about the tribe, and clearly still think about me. I was so wrapped in training that I got jealous when you started besting me, you know why" and he knew very well. He had just spoken why she trained so intensely.

"Sorry about that… It's you who should be fighting tomorrow, not me" he said, a bit sheepishly, still taken aback that Astrid of all people was apologizing to him. That only added more guilt to him, since everything that came with Dragon Training that he would throw away by leaving. However a voice reminded him that masquerade wouldn't hold for long either if he was to stay. He had hurt Toothless, downing the dragon in the process. If anything happened to the Night Fury because he was grounded on Berk, Hiccup would blame himself, since it was because of him that the dragon wouldn't be able to fly away.

She restrained herself from saying: "It should, you cheated using tricks you learned from that beast!" it was harsh, she knew, what she just thought, but her frustrated side couldn't keep itself from thinking anything different. But, instead, she said:"It… shouldn't. You earned it Hiccup." She said trying to sound humble.

He saw this wasn't what she wanted to say as she looked like she hesitated for a second. His suspicious grew that she knew something, so he decided to change the subject. "You said you wanted to talk to me, what it was?" he asked, remembering what she said after entering the forge and thankful that he did so. He saw her shoulders slump slightly, meaning that she was caught off at the sudden change of the subject.

She mentally slapped herself. She saw he purposely shifted the subject and could do nothing without looking suspicious. From his gaze she noticed he was suspicious of something. She knew the boy was smart, that much credit she gave him, so she decided she had to play along. "Yes I did. Were you planning on leaving?" she asked, dropping the façade and going straight to the point; and was happy that his expression changed.

He froze for a second 'So she knew?' before he recalled what Johann said. He figured out her game, a mistake she shouldn't have done and was thankful the Trader shared that piece of information with him. He guessed it wouldn't be long before she told him what she discovered about him, hopefully not being about Toothless. But he didn't throw out the option that she knew about the dragon, since he couldn't recall any other time she could have overheard him speaking about leaving.

"I could ask you the same." This time he was the one happy when her face was one of shock. It wouldn't be long before she noticed he already knew of her game. Or if she already noticed this, it wouldn't take long for her to lose her patience and use an aggressive approach. He was just thankful that her axe was not with her, otherwise he could as well bid goodbye to his life, or at best a limb or two.

"Why do you say that?" her tone slightly losing that softness she tried to hold before, as it came out accusatorial. He noticed that, but didn't show it. She was losing ground and fast. If things kept going like that she would never get him to stay or admit that the whole Dragon Training was a fluke.

"Johann told me" he briefly answered, trying to sound nonchalantly but failing. He was nervous, and he was pretty sure that his voice just showed this. But he was also determined, and slightly angry at her. He got his father to listen to him, so he felt like he could, for once, stand up to anyone, including her. He was leaving, period.

"And why would he tell you that?" she was losing her patience. Every time she thought she had cornered the boy, he could corner her back. Her approach was failing miserably and so was her patience. She now understood why Vikings were never the bunch to find out things by talking instead of being violent. She thought the honey and the hatched approach would work on him… she thought wrong.

"I was trading with him and he commented that" he almost said "I asked when I was looking for the maps" but managed to not do it. He needed to keep his cool and confidence up, since it was very probable that she knew about Toothless. Had it been before, he would surely have crumbled at her pressure, but talking to his father and actually being heard gave him confidence. He felt pride for himself that moment. Besides, his best friend's life was at stake, he couldn't afford losing an argument with her.

"And what was you trading with him?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. Yet again she failed at cornering him.

"Ink and paper; he always trades those with me when he comes. You can ask Gobber. Where would I sketch my inventions? We don't have much paper around here in case you didn't notice." A bit of sarcasm dripped off with his voice, and to weight his argument, he waved his hand showing the forge, where there were piles of paper on the corner.

She clenched her hand into a tight fist. She was about to lose her cool with him. In fact she did. "I saw he also trade maps with you" and her hand flied to her mouth. She cursed herself mentally, 'I spoke too much. Gods be damned!' Now it was another advantage he had on her and unless she came out clean, this argument would continue pointless.

"Why were you watching me?" he wanted to say stalking, but knew this situation didn't exactly mean that. And she would probably lash him out rightfully. He had managed to turn her game against her, now he only needed to keep it like that. He couldn't allow the panic rising inside him take control, otherwise the very reason he came back would be jeopardized.

"I wasn't!" she didn't scream, but her voice was louder. She was cracking as she was the only one being cornered. Her big mouth gave in too much.

"So why were you at the docks? He was about to leave and also said you were there before, so it wasn't to trade anything" he tried holding a smug expression to crack her shell, but deep down he was terrified that he would leave Berk to Valhalla this moment. Axe or not she could easily crack his skull.

"FINE! I WANTED TO KNOW WHY YOU WERE LEAVING?" she screamed. He lost all his postured and stepped back twice from her. It wasn't always someone made Astrid lose her cool, because that someone never lived to tell the tale, so to speak. But he was known to be able to do this, much like his clumsiness did on the first day with the Nadder; or when she cornered him in front of the forge when fixing the harness hooked with Toothless.

Though he shrieked in fear, he felt hurt inside. He felt Astrid's apology hadn't been honest, because he believed until now it was when it had been only a part of her game. She only wanted to know why he was leaving when he just took from her the chance to kill the Nightmare. She only cared about her honor. It had been the reason she threw herself at training and basically forgot him, it was the reason she eavesdropped on his talk with his father and it was the reason she came here to confront him, although he had to give her credit for the different method of confrontation. Maybe because she had followed him to the cove and heard him, but that he couldn't be sure.

Because of that, he grew cold inside, his face lost all expression. "Why do you care?" his voice was low and his tone was icy cold. He could see now why Toothless was so annoyed when he spoke of Astrid, he was trying to tell his rider that it wasn't worth caring for someone that would not do the same, and that you would only end up hurt and disappointed. Hiccup really wished that moment that he heard the Night Fury.

She was evening her breath. Though she felt good lashing out on him, she felt a bit sorry. After all, she felt into her own game, and was stupid to believe that Hiccup wouldn't have noticed it before. Besides, she was part of the reason the boy was driving himself away from the tribe, and shouting at him wouldn't change his mind. She felt stupid, seeing how messed up things were, and considered that coming out clean would have avoided all of this nonsense.

She was about to apologize for screaming at him when those words reached her ears. She actually flinched, but not because of what he said. She flinched because of how he said it. His voice was devoid of emotion, his tone as icy as the coldest day on winter. To her the boy had always been kind, clumsy, but never capable of holding such…err…stoic emotion, like his father.

She realized she was walking on thin ice; something that she said must have hit him deeply for him to be speaking like this. She never had seen Hiccup as cold as now, at least not with Gobber, or when they were friends, so she didn't know how he would react from now on. She decided being honest would be better; her little game was already spoiled anyway.

"Because I don't want you to go" she said softly while averting her eyes from him. If he was boiling in anger, he didn't show. Well, he was bullied for 10 years of his life, and she never saw him show anything but disappointment. 'Maybe he mastered the art of concealing his emotions.' She mused to herself. So she decided that it would be better if she didn't show either, even though a part of her really wanted to choke the boy.

"I wonder why. All you care is that I took the spotlight from you and didn't even care about it. I named you heir and you didn't even mutter thanks. You only care and ever cared about Dragon Training." He said, still icy cold his voice, but a bit of hurt also escaping through it.

"That's not true" she rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit tired of the discussion. 'This didn't go anywhere near what I planned' she remarked mentally.

"So, please, do shed some light and tell me the truth" he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. She felt a little at easy hearing the sarcasm the boy was known for.

"I don't want you to leave because…" a lump caught her throat, thus making her halt her speech. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "…because you are the only one I ever called friend, a-and I don't want to lose you." she said, a bit ashamed that she didn't have the right to say that.

If he was listening her as he was before, he would have noticed the change in her posture and her tone. But he still felt cold inside, so the changed all but missed him.

"That's right. Called. You don't call me friend anymore. You don't care about me anymore. In fact you only did when I began interfering with your training. That's all you care. You threw away our friendship for a stupid training. And for what?!" his voice passed from cold to angry, but it lasted only for a second as the weight of his words crashed on him.

She felt hurt hearing those words. She guessed that's how Hiccup felt when being mocked and lashed out. She would be angry that she couldn't fight back the pain, but she wasn't in her shell anymore. She was looking at her boots, with a lone tear sliding slowly her cheek. Of all people, she never expected to hear that from Hiccup. Hel, she never expected to see him lash out, especially at her. No one did.

After he heard what he said he finally snapped out. His hand flew to his face and he closed his eyes in shame. He had had the guts to go on the only subject that could hurt Astrid. He felt dirt, filth doing so. Here she was, fearless Astrid Hofferson, broken in front of him because of his mouth. Even if she did hurt his emotions he had no right of doing the same, yet he still did.

He sighed, feeling a complete jerk. "Astrid… I'm sorry. I… didn't mean to say that" when she didn't answer him, he decided to speak again, softly, at least explain why he suddenly lashed her out. "I felt hurt that you only apologized as a part of your little game okay?" it was a bit hard, but he managed not to sound angry.

'YOU hurt? What about me?' her mind almost screamed, but another thought came in: 'is this what he saw? Didn't he see I was also being sincere?' she asked herself in disbelief, already knowing the answer. "You know… I did mean it. I heard you speak to your father, and I knew I was wrong. You did think about the village, and you do seem to have thought about this idea before wanting to leave" she explained, her arm absently rubbing the limp one.

He felt a bit incredulous that she eavesdropped on their conversation. But now that he was calm something lingered in his mind. "You said you wanted to know why I was leaving… before you even saw me trade those maps. How did you know I wanted to leave?" he asked, his suspicious almost screamed about what apparently she knew.

'No turning back' she thought, the same way she did on the first day of Dragon Training. "I heard you speak it, back at the woods" she mumbled. Though his tone was soft, she was afraid to meet these forest green eyes cold, emotionless as they had been just a moment ago. Both lost their confidence after Hiccup's sudden outburst, so neither met each other's gaze.

He froze, his heart quickening the beat, his stomach dropping to the ground. He feared what would she answer, but had to ask anyway. "So you know about…" he didn't finish, hoping that she wouldn't catch it. if she did then it was obvious that she saw him and Toothless, and the only thing that kept her from exposing him to his father had been his words.

"Yes, I know about your pet dragon." She spat at the last two words, though he couldn't blame her. Living on a society where their culture was based on killing dragons and losing a parent to one wouldn't help either. In fact, he was surprised she spoke instead of snarling.

He started desperately to wonder if she told anyone. If she had told Stoick he would have noticed. Believing on her or not, he would have showed it on their conversation by either confronting him about it or stating she wasn't fit because she said he trained a Night Fury as an excuse to remove him the chance of killing the Nightmare. And since no one else spoke about that in their drunken state, he assumed no one else besides her knew.

She would have also confronted him about leaving. Deserting your own tribe was a serious crime, one that if the person was caught it would be charged with treason and killed by the Blood Eagle. The only people that left their tribes were either dead or banished, mostly heading to Outcast Island. Since neither was his case, he would actually be wanted by Berk after deserting.

Almost as if she was reading his mind, she said: "No. I didn't tell anyone. I was about to when I heard you talk about the tribe, about Gobber, about me. So when you returned, I decided to confront you, to apologize so you wouldn't leave. I thought that if I did so you would stay. I didn't even consider the pet dragon situation back then"

Almost immediately he replied: "You know I can't stay, and you know why" his tone neither soft nor icy, more like matter-of-factly.

She felt a bit of anger rise inside her again. Meeting his gaze since the whole fight, she spoke with determination: "I could just go tell your father about him" she threatened, hoping he would drop out the idea and remain on Berk. They could deal later with the Night Fury, maybe uncover how he tamed a dragon or something like that. Maybe keep it captive for future students or have it be killed instead of the Nightmare.

He paled a little, trying to think of something to reply. He knew everyone was drunk, probably including his father at the moment, so it would take a while that she would be heard for anyone, if not until tomorrow. Vikings were not considered the most level headed people after drowning themselves in mead. There was also…

"You could indeed. You could go and I'd be long gone before you came back with him, if he believes in you after all. You could drag me and say that and you would not only discredit yourself, but lose the chance to regain your honor, since he would discredit my whole idea of naming you heir." He countered, his voice slightly quavering as he again felt dirt for using a low blow, but he couldn't afford Toothless being at risk.

Before she could reply, he continued: "You could tell him I was leaving, and I would tell him the same I told Johann. That is if he's not passed out because of a drinking contest with Gobber right now." He added, and was relieved seeing her with a defeated face, meaning he was not at risk anymore.

Her anger dissipated. She was back analyzing every word he said, trying to find a flaw. Either because she was exhausted, or because the boy was really good, she found none. She gave up on trying to be threatened and did something very un-Viking and uncharacteristic of her: she opened up to him.

"I want us to be friends again… I want to care about you the same way I did. The same way you showed when you were talking in the cove, or moments ago. I want to make up for the lost time. I don't want to lose you" her voice cracked a little. She did not really want to lose the boy, now that she realized it was the only boy that would ever see her as a person rather than a prize.

Hiccup turned to the anvil, where her axe was still wrapped by the cloth. Hearing this made his heart ache remembering the pain it had been when he lost her friendship, and seeing her so open and fragile crumbled every bit of confidence he had on standing up against her. Playing a little with the material he left an exasperated sigh. "You know I can't stay Astrid, I'm sorry…" he apologized sincerely, because a part of him also wanted what she just said.

Desperation started coming back to her. She couldn't have just realized the friend she had to let him go again. "Sorry? You want to leave the tribe, to leave us, leave your father and leave me for your pet dragon? You want to leave all you gained to protect it?" she asked, incredulous and betrayed.

With a determined expression, he turned to her and looked deeply at her sky blue eyes. "Yes" was all he said, but a thousand unspoken words came with it.

She saw his face, and remarked it was the same he had when he left the Hall with the chief. She knew there was no way to change his mind. 'At least he is stubborn as a Viking' she thought amusedly.

He turned again, not being able to stand looking at those eyes… those eyes that held pain, anger, regret; too many emotions for him to handle. He already had his fair share of emotions to keep at bay. Despite what she may think it was no easy decision to leave. He would be leaving Gobber behind, her, his father, everything he ever wanted and dreamed; and, even though Toothless would be with him, he knew he would at one point miss all of those things; it was only human to do so.

"Don't ask why. You probably know already…" he said, looking at the blade he half unwrapped from the cloth.

"I do…" she tried to look around, but found nothing of interesting, so she decided to look at her boots at the moment. "Will you come back?" she asked after a moment of silence fell between them. Her voice sounded like she was afraid of being hopeful, only to have her hope crushed again. And he didn't blame her, because he himself didn't know if he would.

"Maybe, I need to leave without setting things off first. Then I'll explore the Archipelago for a while, see more of the world. I also want to learn why the dragons raid us. Toothless never hurt me, neither the White Fury at the ring, and I found this odd. Not to mention that I've noticed they take much more food than what they need. So something must make them raid us." He explained his idea.

She deduced he named the Night Fury Toothless. Leave to Hiccup to name the offspring of lighting and death itself with such a docile name…

She then recalled the White Fury. The most scaring feature of him was the one few people lived to tell the tale. He could enter inside a person's head, and use its fears to weaken it so he could finish them easily. She despised the creature. It was deceptive as an Outcast is, but even more, since he used anyone's fear against them, crushing the person's spirit before giving the killing blow. Although…

"Can't you ask that dragon? It seems to understand us and he can talk to us." She asked, this time a bit hopeful as she couldn't avoid it. Her idea was insane, but if Hiccup was telling the truth and the dragon didn't hurt him, then perhaps he could talk to the white beast without being brutally murdered or having someone roaming through his head.

"I tried to, and he wouldn't tell me. Either by fear or by stubbornness he didn't tell me why…" her hope vanished at those words, though she lingered on the thought that dragons were able to understand them. At least the Furies do. Then again, both Furies were regarded as the most cunning, intelligent dragons. This was not much per say, since every Viking considered every dragon a mindless beast.

Anger reignited inside her as she lost hope. She decided to go violent. "So what? You're leaving and then what?" she snarled. He thought everything until now, so he probably thought about what he would do after leaving. Or, did he plan to side up with them? After all he was friends with a dragon and she now realized that she overlooked this fact until this moment.

"I don't know"

"Will you side with them? Live at their nest?" her voice was rising; the hurt she felt was melting into anger. Years she had been nothing but cold-hearted and the misfit, long lost childhood friend of her suddenly is able to make her feel waves and waves of emotions. It unsettled her how Hiccup could shake her to the very core of her existence, and she was desperately in need to vent out this frustration.

"I don't know where it is" he countered, his voice was also rising. He was slowly losing his patience with her stubbornness. Just because he was friends with Toothless it didn't mean he was with every dragon, or that he would begin to aid them in the raids.

"Or live by yourself in some godsforsaken island?"

"I don't know!"

"Or go to some godsdamned tribe to settle, take a different name, wipe out your existence and marry someone?" she was almost screaming, anger dripping from her voice.

"THE ONLY ONE I WOULD EVER MARRY WOULD BE YOU"

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**_ANII: there we go, the cliffhanger that i had originally planned. i thought about releasing those two chapter as one, but making a 10K seemed a bit farfecthed, and i didn't want to make any of you hope that my chapters would normally be this long. I know that some might suggest that both Hiccup and Astrid might seem a bit OOC in this chapter, but i wanted to give a different view as how Hiccup would feel about leaving, and also how Astrid would feel if she knew he planned to leave. Let me know what y'all thought about it! after his departure my chapters will include a sort of flashforward style, so everyone that is waiting for the merging of these two universes can catch a glimpse of what is coming._**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Hello, I'm sorry but this is an IMPORTANT author's note, not another chapter_**

**_A couple of users have complained to me that my last chapter had numerous grammar mistakes. I'd like to clarify that English is not my first language, nor it is the second, and that it wasn't, unfortunately, as heavily taught as the first two languages I have learned. I try my best to keep grammar errors to a minimal (although writing sometimes in the middle of the night probably didn't help)_**

**_That said, while i am grateful that you guys kept me informed that my story sports grammar mistakes, it would help if you could at least inform me through the reviews or PMs my most common mistakes. Just saying that I have grammar mistakes doesn't really solve anything. I, unfortunately, don't have a Beta-Reader to help me correct said mistakes, as some non-native English speakers fortunately have, so if anyone is interested in being my beta-reader do let me know through a PM. I would be certainly grateful._**

**_Update: I have found a beta-reader, so further chapters will be proof-read. I thank WinterKnight2104 for generously accepting being my beta-reader._**


	6. Chapter 6

**_AN: Hello fellow readers and welcome back to another chapter of How To Let It Go. For those of you eager to see the universe of HTTYD meeting the Frozen I'm happy to say that, as we approach the moment where Hiccup will leave Berk there will be ''Flash-forwards'' until he arrives at Arendelle. I also noticed that many of you have pressed the following button, but not as many did the same with the favorite button. I am curious as of why, and if you want to say it through a PM or review, even an anonymous one I'd be delighted to read._**

**_Anyway, without further ado:_**

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"THE ONLY ONE I WOULD EVER MARRY WOULD BE YOU"

This time Hiccup was the one to shout, as he turned to glare at Astrid's eyes. Both were livid and panting at this moment, and their cheeks were reddened, although not only because of each one's anger but also because of what Hiccup just yelled.

She was too shocked to say anything, which, in any other situation, it would have been a funny sight since Astrid was never speechless. But, to her credit, she expected to hear another 'I don't know' coming from him. Not in a million years did she expect to hear what he just told her.

Apparently neither did him as the silence lingered through the air between them, and when he finally realized what he just said Hiccup averted his gaze and turned his back on her again, feeling too embarrassed to face her after what he just blurted out. He wasn't lying, but never thought he would tell her this one day either.

She was still too shocked to speak, and he noticed it, deducing that this was an opportunity for him to speak up and explain himself. "I-I mean. You're the only woman I ever cared Astrid. I never stopped doing so. And just because I'd be leaving it doesn't mean I would stop caring for you, or for anyone as a matter of fact." He replied somewhat desolate. 'Did she really think so low of him because of a dragon?' he thought sadly.

He turned to look at her, who had yet to move a finger. She was relieved that, at least, her mouth wasn't wide open, or so she thought. "I-I had a crush on you for long as I remember. T-that's why I couldn't leave without leaving you something. To show to you that I cared… that I always did, and would still do…" he stammered, feeling sheepish that he admitted that to Astrid. And a little bit fearful that those would be his last words.

And with that he turned to grab the cloth wrapped axe, and turned again to face her. He held out the axe and she finally snapped out of her shock to see him offering her something wrapped in cloth. She grabbed it gently, which surprised him (who knew Astrid Hofferson could be gentle?) and removed the cloth from it.

If she didn't need both her hand to hold it, she would have covered her mouth with one the moment she gasped. Her eyes were as open as her mouth at the sight of the axe in front of her. The axe shined as if it was destined for a Valkyrie, and he did it for her; he forged it because he wanted her to know that he cared. It was not because he wanted to woo her or anything, but because he really cared.

Looking closer, she could see faint runes written in the blades, though since the only light in the forge came from the candles and the furnace, she wasn't able to read much of it. The axe itself looked like it was made of silver, though she knew it wasn't since silver wouldn't last on the battlefield, and it weighed differently from a silver-made axe. He knew how she used an axe, so he wouldn't be dumb enough to forge one out of weak metal, if he really intended for her to use it.

She carefully looked at the rest of the axe, only to find a fine carved wooden handle, with a leather strip smoothly running through it. She took the cloth lying on her arm and threw it at the table nearby to handle the axe. It was perfectly balanced, almost like it was a part of her. She wondered how Hiccup did this or that what he did in the first place to the metal look so bright.

"I made using an experimental forging method I created. It makes the metal lighter and stronger, and the metal ends up like it was just polished." He explained, noticing the awed yet confused expression she had on her face. He knew that she was probably comparing the shiny metal to silver, so he felt better to reassure her it wasn't the weak metal the one he used. "So… do you like it?" he asked shyly, with a hint of anxiety on his voice.

"Hiccup… I-I love it" she said at a loss for words, her eyes not prying away from the axe. He rubbed the back of his neck shyly as he reddened looking at the awed face Astrid had. It was like a child's when winning a Snoggletog present. He also smiled at the scene, seeing that she was truly happy of receiving his gift. He only felt his heart ache at how he wouldn't be able to see Gobber's expression when the man finds his own gift.

After she was finished admiring the axe she came back to reality. The smile that was on her face, caused by the unfamiliar warm she felt (after all, she barely remembered the last time someone gave her something nice) was replaced with a frown. "You're still leaving, aren't you?" she asked sadly. The axe to her, beautiful or not, meant a goodbye, a farewell, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling angst at seeing him leave.

It was funny how the day changed. First she wanted first to beat him, then to kill him, then to expose him, then to study him, to apologize to him and finally she wanted to keep him in Berk. And now, after feeling elated from receiving such beautiful gift that who knows how many hours he spent doing she was feeling dread and angst as his departure got closer to happening.

"Yes, I am" though this time he didn't speak determined, but rather lamentably, as if it wasn't really his choice. He went to his room and came back a few seconds later vested in a leather jacket and a bundle underneath his arms. "Want to come with me and meet Toothless?" he asked.

What she understood instead was: 'want to come and say goodbye?' she absently nodded, and so lost in thoughts while following him after leaving the forge that she didn't even notice going to the chief's house and Hiccup leaving a note on the table, or the fact that she was about to meet the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.

They walked silently to the cove. She didn't know what to say, and he was busy thinking if he forgot to do or check anything. When they reached the cove's entrance he stopped, making her also stop on her tracks. Only then she came out of her trance and noticed she had been the whole walk fingering the smooth handle of the axe as a source of comfort.

"It's better if you give me the axe. He can be a bit wary around armed people he doesn't trust." he said with a hand stretched to grab the axe while the other clumsily held his bundle.

A small part inside her screamed that she was about to face the deadliest dragon known to men, that it was a trap and she shouldn't go unarmed. But she quickly let it aside as she gave him the axe. If he was leaving and had been honest at the forge, he wouldn't lead her to her death. Though that thought didn't stop her from being slightly afraid…

A small part inside her screamed that she was about to face the deadliest dragon known to men, that it was a trap and she shouldn't go unarmed. But she quickly let it aside, remembering his words of how he cared about her and how she would be the only one he'd ever marry, and gave him the axe. If he was leaving and had been honest at the forge, he wouldn't lead her to her death. Though that thought didn't stop her from being slightly afraid…

As they entered the cove Hiccup left, on a nearby boulder, his things, the axe among them. "Toothless? Come here bud, I want to introduce you to a friend." He called out as he walked toward the center of the cove. Said dragon cautiously came to him, contrary to his popular attitude where he would pin down and lick Hiccup on spot. He approached slowly Hiccup and warily looked at Astrid for a moment, making her freeze in fear.

Astrid watched frozen as the dragon stopped staring at her to go to Hiccup. The boy scratched him affectingly, earning a purr in the process. She couldn't stop but compare it to an overgrown cat. A cat fully coated with scales; that has wings and that breath fire she noted amusedly.

Hiccup, after patting him, led Toothless toward Astrid slowly, so each other could properly meet. He wanted to part ways with her on good terms, and for that, she and Toothless would need to be acquainted at least. Her instincts were screaming that she would run away, but she trusted Hiccup to don't let the dragon harm her. In the end she only gave two steps backwards, but still felt vulnerable at every single step the dragon gave toward her.

When they were a few feet apart, he introduced each other: "Astrid, this Toothless" he gestured toward the dragon, who nodded. "Toothless. This is Astrid. She is a friend." He gestured toward her and she gave a shy wave with her hand, feeling rather intimidated by the mighty of the Night Fury, even though it is way smaller than she originally expected. Up close the dragon seemed to be eradiating pride, as if he knew very well of the reputation he had among Vikings.

However the fact that Toothless nodded at her, as if saying 'nice to meet you', went past her mind.

The dragon approached her, dropping his intimidating stance in the process, and stared sniffing on her. She didn't move, but paled nonetheless. "Hiccup?" she whispered, "What is he doing?" she asked, anxiety and fear lashing out from her voice.

Hiccup didn't move from his spot, although he was observing both of them. "Relax. He's acquiring your scent, or seeing if you don't have any hidden weapons or ill intentions. Try to relax, they can sense fear for what I have understood, and he'll trust you more easily if you're not afraid." she tried doing as he said, but when the deadliest known dragon is sniffing you like a pray, it's kind of hard to relax. Now she understood why he took away her axe, and she was deeply thankful he did so. She shivered subtly by only imagining how it would be to face this dragon battle-ready.

Seeing Astrid wasn't relaxing, he approached them and scratched one of Toothless' earplates, making the dragon stop sniffing her to purr. His other hand went and gently grabbed hers to lead toward the dragon. She began to panic once she stepped outside her fear-filled trance and noticed what Hiccup was doing. She began to sweat cold seeing her hand approaching the dark scales.

"Hiccup? What are you doing?" she asked, this time her voice was more rushed. She weakly tried to resist his grasp, but to no avail.

"Relax, just trust me" he answered, offering a smile. She ended up complying, not resisting anymore his grasp on her wrist; although she was still wary of what he wanted to do.

He stopped scratching Toothless so the dragon focused on her hand. When it was inches apart from him, Hiccup let go of her hand and took a step behind. Toothless looked at it, andthen looked at Hiccup, who in turn gave a subtle nod.

Astrid couldn't remove her eyes from the dragon. She was afraid that if she'd do that it would eat her hand. She noticed the dragon look to Hiccup, but did not see what the boy did, as he was no longer in her field of view. It was like he was looking into her very soul, and thinking if she should be deemed worthy of his trust, or be mauled on spot. She didn't think Hiccup would allow the later, but the look the dragon was giving her made it harder to feel reassured by thinking Hiccup would stand between her and a Night Fury.

It wasn't until a minute later that the elusive dragon finally closed his eyes and nudged the girl's hand with his snort. Astrid gasped, feeling astonished at the amazing sensation she was feeling when her hand came in contact with the soft, warm scales. She had never touched a dragon's scales, and only thought she would ever do with the intent of killing the giant reptiles. But the feeling of those warm, smooth scales around her palm was indescribable.

Hiccup was grinning so much while looking at Astrid's awed face that his face was almost splinting in two. He did not speak, as he waited to see what would be Astrid's words about that. He knew very well how amazing that feeling was, and he patiently waited to hear what she would say.

"Hiccup…" she spoke awed, "This… this is…" she couldn't even finish it as the feeling seemed ineffable, but the boy seemed to read her mind and find just the right word.

"Amazing" it wasn't a question. It was a statement. For a brief second she wondered if he could read minds, but soon recalled that he must have done this to win Toothless' trust, and should have felt the same. She gave him a nod to show that he spoke just the right word. This time she was the one grinning like a fool.

He closed in and showed her where to scratch Toothless. She laughed freely when the dragon began purring at her scratch. She felt a little girl all over again, laughing and smiling like a fool just like when she had won her first axe. She never thought that the elusive Night Fury would be a giant kitty. Maybe the White Fury would act similarly…

Thinking about the white, trapped dragon made something hit her mind. "Hiccup… Does that mean all we know is wrong?" she asked, perturbed that her entire life could be a lie. She couldn't believe anymore that they were mindless beasts that always go for the kill even if she wanted to. The fact that a Night Fury was purring at her scratching was more than enough to convince the stubborn Viking inside her.

He pondered at the thought. "Probably yes… While they are not mindless beasts, as you can see, they still attack us, although I believe that there is for a reason behind it. So far none of the dragons I met seemed to be reasonless. Maybe stubborn, but not mindless like they make us believe" he answered, trying to make sense of the whole situation Berk and dragons were.

She carefully took in his words while she stepped aside, and watched as he packed his stuff on Toothless. She also noticed that he looked more mature using that leather jacket, which was almost as black as his dragon. 'That's probably to conceal his appearance during their flight.' She guessed. Astrid also noticed that it was full of pockets and modifications, showing his 'Hiccupness'.

Once he was finished, he looked at the saddle and sighed. He would have never thought that he would have been able to say a proper goodbye to anyone before leaving, much less to Astrid. Even though he was ready, a part of him still found hard leaving the only place he ever called home; even if the village didn't like him until now. And now it was even harder since he regained Astrid's friendship back, after spending 10 years yearning for it.

Sensing his distress, she came up to his side and placed a hand on his arm. "Do you really need to do this?" she asked with a sad tone, even though she knew the answer.

He turned and looked at those sky-blue eyes. He would need to leave soon lest the guilt bottling up inside him would stop him from doing so. With a sigh he answered: "Unfortunately yes, I must."

"I left a note for both of them. I was planning on leaving one for you as well when… well… you came to the forge. Since you know the truth I'll tell you what I wrote to dad. Gobber's note was mostly thanking him for everything and a clue so he would find my gift to him. Dad is mostly trying to justify my departure otherwise I'd just be leaving to be hunted down later by him." He explained.

"I guess I did. But we know brains is not what make you respected around here." though he spoke evenly, she noticed there was a hint of longing behind it; a longing that he would be accepted for who he was. "Besides…" he added and hesitated for a moment, "I had planned some of that… before the Training and… everything" he vaguely waved around.

"Y-you mean…" she didn't finish it, even though there was no need. Both knew that was the unspoken question as he proved by sadly nodding. She felt a pang on her heart, afflicted at the idea that he could have left earlier, without anyone's notice. And she knew, even if he would deny it, that it was partially her fault on that. Or maybe befriending Toothless only became the perfect getaway, since she doubted he knew how to single-handle a boat.

"You would make a good chief, you know?" she said, and he looked at her surprised. "I'm glad I was able to see you as yourself. Not a Dragon Master you were on the ring or the clumsy boy trying to down a dragon" she gestured toward Toothless. She had noticed the fake tailfin and recalled the night when he said he downed a Night Fury. He had been right and no one believed in him. And now he was leaving because no one ever cared to really see him.

"I saw you as Hiccup: a thinker, a strategist, a kind hearted person. Even if none of us deserve it, you still thought about us before leaving… You still cared about me, even if I don't deserve it." She praised solemnly while rubbing her arm. She didn't dare avert her gaze from his, as she wanted him to know every word she spoke she meant it. He couldn't leave thinking no one saw him for who he was with something else than disappointment.

Though he wanted to argue with her, he saw the truth behind those words. So he just listened. He doubted he would ever see Astrid outside her warrior shell as he had seen her today; that is if he would ever see her again. He also doubted someone had ever seen her like that before, and would ever see. He could only faintly recall her so vulnerable the day she lost her Uncle Finn for the Flightmare.

Though he wanted to argue with her, he saw the truth behind those words. So he just listened. He doubted he would ever see Astrid outside her warrior shell as he had seen her today; that is if he would ever see her again. He also doubted someone had ever seen her like that before, and would ever see. He could only faintly recall her so vulnerable the day she lost her Uncle Finn for the Flightmare.

"Well… uh, thanks, I guess" he stammered a bit. He didn't know what to say to her after what he heard. Even though the situation was awkward, neither averted their gaze from one another's eyes.

"So…" she tried to change the subject before getting too sappy. She was way outside her character for her taste. "What did you write to your father?" she asked curiously. It would need to be something big to convince Stoick his departure was worthy.

"Well. I wrote in that letter that I would make a trip to gather some wisdom. You know, to be a worthy heir in the eyes of the village." she was about to argue but he stopped her. "I know you think I am, but they don't see like that. They see you both a capable warrior and leader. Even if they see me as a great warrior, it doesn't mean they would see me as a great leader" he countered, silencing whatever protest she was about to speak.

She gave up on arguing. She knew that very well. It was known the village's fear regarding their future. Hiccup was seen as a nuisance and incapable of leading the tribe, while Snotlout everyone knew that, even if he was a good warrior, he would be a horrible leader. She didn't know how they saw Hiccup by now, but there probably were people that still feared for the future of Berk, even with his improvement on Dragon Training.

"That and… I also wrote that I would hunt down the Night Fury to make him proud of me." Toothless looked at him confused, just like Astrid did. Sensing the prying eyes upon him, he explained. "Even if taking the trip would look good as my position of heir, fleeing before the fight would make me look a coward. And the village would demand either my blood or my exile from being a coward." He explained.

"Because of that I wrote that I would only return once I had hunted down the Night Fury to earn their respect, and that would make my runaway from the fight excusable." He patted absently Toothless, who lay down again, comfortable with the explanation. Astrid understood his reasons, though she clearly saw he wouldn't do that. This fact only fueled more her fear that he would never come back.

"Maybe one day, when I find out why they raid us and make them stop I-we can show them dragons and Vikings can coexist." He said, smiling. His eyes were distant, as if they were imagining how life would be if that was true. She also smiled, but because he included her in this plan.

"Well…" he averted his gaze, and her heart stopped for a second. She knew what this meant. "I guess this is a goodbye" he said sadly.

And this moment, she did something she never thought she would do, much less with him. She hugged him, hugged as if her life depended on it. For a couple of seconds he was too shocked to return the hug, but when he snapped out of it, he returned it.

They shared the embrace, neither knew for how long, but both wanted it to last forever. It was heartbreaking for him to leave everything and everyone he knew behind, but for him it mattered more that things would stay the same by doing so. He knew going to fight the Nightmare would expose his whole facade, and possibly Toothless, and he didn't want to risk messing everything.

For her, she knew it was completely un-Viking to show emotions or affection. But she also knew she had lost too many good moments with him, and that she probably would never see him again. It was because of this that she decided to hug him, before she could regret not doing so. She was scared that he would die out there, sad that she only realized too late who Hiccup really was and was even feeling lonely by seeing that the only person that was not related to her but cared deeply for her was leaving.

Once they parted, she looked at him, and she gave him the hardest punch she could muster at his right arm. He actually stumbled backwards from the brute force of the blow. "OWWW" he rubbed his sore arm. "Why would you do that?" he asked bewildered and a bit angry.

"That" she pointed at the arm she just hit. "Was for besting me in Dragon Training" she said smirking. She thought for a second if she should hit him again, but ended giving up on the idea.

And then she acted on impulse. She gave him a peck on the cheek. Hiccup's brain switched off, and because he had a dreamily gaze, he missed Astrid turning red as a Nightmare, looking everywhere but at his eyes.

"And that is for…" caring about her? Forging that axe? Showing her the truth? "…For everything else" she mumbled lamely while looking at her feet. She hoped that it was too dark to be visible her furious blush. Honestly she could understand why she hugged him, but the reasons behind her sudden peck on his lips were unknown to her at this moment.

"O-okay…" he said once his brain switched back on, and was also furiously blushing. He chuckled a little, happy that even after all this sappiness, she was still tough Astrid Hofferson. His chuckles died down soon, as both noticed they were looking at everywhere but each other. An awkward silence fell between them, since neither knew what to do after the sudden display of affection.

After a couple of awkward silent seconds, he faked a cough and spoke. "Well. It's time." And with that Toothless jumped up and positioned himself so that his Rider would climb.

She looked at him, and once he was in the saddle, she grabbed his arm. "Goodbye Hiccup…" she said, her voice almost cracking. This was it, his final farewell, there was nothing stopping him from going, not even her. She would have considered joining him if she had not been named heir by him.

He put a hand on the hand she had in his arm and squeezed it a little. "Remember, when the raids stop and the sky cry, you'll know I have returned" he spoke, almost of prophesying.

She laughed, despite the situation and the few tears rolling her cheek. "Really? You're so dramatic" she commented, in disbelief while shaking her head. He felt happy making her laugh, and felt warm inside despite the sadness of the situation.

"Couldn't avoid it" he replied, laughing lightly with her. But then he stopped, and slowly removed her hand. She reluctantly complied after he gave one last squeeze on her hand, before separating himself from her and hooking his foot on the tailfin's pedal.

"But, seriously. Remember that." He breathed deeply before whispering "Goodbye Astrid." And with that boy and dragon were flying away. Because of the wind burst coming from Toothless' wings when the dragon took off, she stumbled and almost fell on the ground. For a whole minute she stood still as a statue, looking at the black dot getting smaller by the minute, until she couldn't make it out of the dark night. The moon light was as good too illuminate a couple of foots from her.

.

.

...

"We did it bud... We finally left the Archipelago" Hiccup said relieved while patting Toothless. They were both tired after going through the Snow Belt, which was a place where snowstorms frequently ocurred, thus creating a natural barrier that kept dragons and Vikings away from out outer world.

'There's a village up ahead and it doesn't looks like anything we have ever seen' Windwalker spoke up, also feeling tired. Hiccup nodded and quickly snatched his maps to see if there was any information about the village before them, or kingdoms as they were known. All three of them wanted to land and rest, but Hiccup would not risk their safety by going on unknown lands.

"Alright, i think its safe to land there." he said after storing the maps.

The kingdom in question was none other than Arendelle

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**_AN: Soo, let me think of what you all thought about his departure. Besides, these flash-forwards would be better to put at the end of the chapter or at the beginning? As always, reviews are much appreciated, and so is constructive criticism._**


	7. Chapter 7

**_AN: HELLO my friends, big surprise for you all = a new chapter! I just listened to Louder Than Words from Pink Floyd (I absolutely recommend all of you to listen to it_**)**_, and I think I've never been so affected by a song as beautiful as this one. So I decided to post a new chapter because of this._**

**_Besides, I decided to adopt a different approach for my reviews. I'll be, from now on, answering to them before the chapter begins. That way I can answer questions that possibly more than one of you is wondering about._**

**_So... Reviews._**

**_Guest (something to call you would be nice, since it would make answering you a bit less vague): I have not ditched away the idea of Hiccelsa for this fanfiction, even though it may seem that I'll ship Hiccstrid. But, it will be quite awhile before you see any sort of romance. This fic was really born at the idea of 'how it would be if Hiccup and Elsa met whilst in their teen years'. Sorry to disappoint all of you looking forward to see some kissing between our favorite Viking and Queen._**

**_Hospitaller1080: I know I already answered you through a PM, but I'll answer again anyway. I know that it took awhile for Hiccup to leave Berk, but I wanted to write a unique way to which he left. While I have no issues at the traditional 'he left without Astrid finding him', 'he left after being banished' or 'he left because he didn't go after her' I felt like it was starting to get a bit dull. Not to mention that this won't be the last time we will be seeing Berk, so I wanted to wrap it before he left._**

**_Zyonzillia: you sent me a PM, but i think that your questions might be a bit common. I have no idea if I'll include Valka in this story. I guess I'll have to see how it progress as I write it. And who's Windwalker... Well, you're about to meet him, although my readers of How To Become a Dragon Chief are already acquainted with him_**

**_Without further ado, here's my surprise chapter to you all:_**

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Astrid kept looking at the sky even though she could no longer see them. But... meanwhile, in the skies…

"Toothless. We have to go to the Arena. There is a friend we must pick up" the dragon looked at his rider as if he had grown two heads, especially because he couldn't figure who this friend was supposed to be. He huffed; annoyed that yet again his rider was delaying their departure.

Hiccup, on the other hand, understood that the huff his dragon gave was one of confusion. "There'll be no one there. Everyone is at the Hall 'celebrating' my victory, most probably passed out of drinking too much." He mumbled the last part, recalling how half of Berk would be passed out only a few hours after a celebration begins.

"Either way we're only picking one because we can't risk freeing all dragons without rising suspiciousness. This is why we're only taking a special friend with us." he explained, this apparently convinced the Night Fury, as it nodded and changed their course.

Soon they found themselves inside the Arena. Hiccup was thankful that the gate was left open, since the noise that could be caused from opening it could risk them being discovered, even if it was likely that the patrols were also celebrating at the Hall and drunk. Nevertheless, he thanked his luck as he worked too hard this night to be discovered and lose the whole disguise.

With this he slowly approached the cage and opened it by using the lever near the doors. As they slowly opened Hiccup held out his hands as a sign that he meant no harm while slowly walking backwards. "It's okay. I'm a friend. I'm freeing you." He spoke to the dragon once the faint glint of the dragon's scales reached his eyes.

He stepped back slowly to give room for the dragon to come out once it slowly started to leave its cage. He was also doing this so should the dragon see him as a threat and try to attack him Toothless would be able to protect him. He didn't want, after all, to die in Berk, after the hard work he did to leave it.

Slowly coming outside his underground arena, the White Fury held his head high as it majestically walked from its cage. He held his wings half-opened in an attempt to look bigger and more threatening, which didn't require much, as he was already very menacing to anyone that knew his species.

At first sight he could be easily confused with a white Night Fury. But, the more one knew about his species, the more terrifying and different from its cousin he became. The first obvious trail that set him apart from the dark Fury species was his two pairs of wings, and the fact that the dragon could breathe ice instead of fire.

The terror didn't stop there, as even the dragons themselves were mostly afraid of the White Furies, sans a few Strike Class dragons like the Skrill and, obviously, the Night Fury. His scales had a glass-like composition, enabling him to reflect sunlight if he positioned himself in a certain way. His back legs were more stretched than his front legs, and the fact that the wing span of his 4 wings was shorter than the Night Fury's enabled him to easily use them to propel himself at any prey in a matter of seconds.

But there was an even more terrifying ability, impossible to see until it was too late. Only a few knew of it and, among the Vikings, it was considered a myth, a story to tell children so they would behave…

'So the hatchling returns' he amusedly pointed out. 'Why did you return? Why did you free me? I didn't give you the information you wanted nor trusted you before, and neither do I now' he said. The thing is: the White Fury had the ability to tap into a person's head. But could also speak to them, although no one bothered to know that since they only attacked him and he only used his ability to weaken his attackers. Hiccup had found out that when they confronted the Fury to decide the winner of the Dragon Training.

"I know, but I did not come back to give another try at acquiring knowledge about the Nest. I came for a very different reason. Besides I could only free one dragon without putting Toothless and I at risk, so I chose that dragon to be you." He explained, earning a snort from the Fury as it snorted at the other Fury's name.

'Naming a legendary dragon with such name." he amusedly commented to himself, as if it was a joke, 'you're not really good at giving names, are you?' he asked smugly, although to the young rider it seemed an affirmation. Hiccup smiled, brushing aside the insult. A warming conversation was a good way to win this dragon's trust and they seemed to be heading into that direction.

"Maybe I am, maybe not. Why don't we try naming you? I'll say the first name that crosses my mind, and you tell me if you like it. If you like it, you'll let me ask you something. I promise it won't be about the Nest." He quickly added as the White Fury's eyes narrowed in suspiciousness and annoyance.

"And if you don't, you can just walk away from the Arena" he finished while gesturing toward the open entrance. Toothless was beside Hiccup, so the entrance was wide open for the white dragon to fly through. The Night Fury was more worried that the other Fury would harm his rider than whether he would escape or not.

The dragon looked at Hiccup's forest green eyes with its sapphire blue, and then at the Arena's entrance. He knew from their previous encounter that the human hatchling before him was different from any other human he met before. The White Fury seemed to think about it for a couple of seconds before finally answering, and he would only do so because Hiccup was different.

'Very well, I accept your proposition. Let's hear what name you have in mind' he said. His tone was slightly less apprehensive than before, and was neither sarcastic nor treacherous, which Hiccup took as a good sign.

He tapped his chin as he thought, and thought. He knew that he had only one shot at convincing this dragon, and he couldn't lose it. He remembered that he gave Toothless his name because it was something about the dragon that marked him. So he tried the same approach with the White Fury…

He remembered how graciously it flied when they first let it outside the underground Arena to battle him, even though the chain dome limited his flight space. He also remembered the tales at how this dragon seemed to dance in the air before being captured spoken by other older traders. They spoke that this dragon almost seemed as if it could walk on the thin air…

"Windwalker…" the name came out of Hiccup's mouth before he could even notice it. He was surprised but also felt that the name was appropriate for the dragon. It just came as an instinct, just like with Toothless.

The dragon also seemed to be surprised with this name. 'Windwalker' he spoke, as if testing the name. 'I must admit little one, it is an interesting name, and also a respectful one.' he emphasized while looking smugly at Toothless. The midnight dragon just snorted, only caring that Hiccup gave him the name, and now how foolish it sounded.

'Now… I must honor my part of the deal, since you have managed to suggest a good name for me. What it is that you want to ask?' his tone was friendly now, showing that he indeed accepted the name given by Hiccup even though he might not admit this, and that he also found it honorable rather than a joke like Toothless' name.

While outside he seemed calm inside Hiccup was cheering, but he knew it wasn't over yet. There was still one more thing… "I came here because I am leaving Berk. And I chose to free you, of all dragons here. I plan on travelling, exploring, and I would like to know: Would you like to join us?" he gestured to him and Toothless.

The other dragons shared a similar behavior, at least for what Hiccup had seen so far. But this White Fury intrigued him. Even Toothless shared some behavior trails with the other dragons, and this Fury did not. It was like he was a dragon version of Hiccup: different from everyone else of his kind. And the boy wanted to know more Windwalker because of this.

The dragon looked at him, apparently more surprised than before, although for what reason Hiccup couldn't fathom for what reason exactly. Maybe it was because Hiccup, a Viking, was freeing a dragon, more specifically the dreaded and feared White Fury.

Or because that Hiccup wanted him as a companion on his travel, or that the young boy was trusting at this moment, the dragon before him to not backstab him or desert. Or perhaps Windwalker was surprised because of all those reasons, or simply because of Hiccup's un-Viking behavior.

'Well. Why would you leave your home young one? Why you chose me, when every other dragon would more than willingly follow you after freeing them? And how do you know I wouldn't turn on you as soon as we left this village?' he asked, a bit curiously, a bit suspiciously. He wouldn't admit, but he felt greatly interested at this hatchling before him, while unbeknownst to the fact the Hiccup shared the same interest on him. To the dragon it was clear that Hiccup had more wisdom than his age shows, or even all the Viking kind. And he was clearly different from the other Vikings he met from this village.

Hiccup's shoulders fell a little. But he didn't lose hope yet. He could see the dragon was genuinely curious, instead of just wary. He guessed that it made sense why Windwalker would be somewhat reluctant in answering his question, considering how he himself was going against everything he was taught by befriending Toothless. Not to mention that Windwalker had his fair share with the Vikings until now.

"Well… We both know killing dragons is all they know here, and we both know I can't kill one, or even hurt one. Toothless here is proof of that" he pointed at said dragon, who gave a nod, as if confirming what he was speaking. "So I am a misfit here… I am different, and because of that I do not belong here." His tone held a pang of hurt, and longing. It was clear to Windwalker that, despite being set to leave the village, a part of the boy still wished that he would not need to do so.

Hiccup went silent for a moment before regaining his voice with firmness on it as he was set on befriending Windwalker before definitely leaving. "I chose you because you're also different from any other dragon I've met until now, and I'm also counting Toothless on that list."

He sighed before continuing his speech. "Because earning your trust and respect would only happen through different methods; because, in a way, you're also a misfit among dragons. You're the only one that can talk to us, and the only one that can be deceptive in the battlefield." Windwalker was fairly surprised at the genius Hiccup showed, and how confidently he spoke. He agreed with him, since his species had been feared among dragons and even Alphas for their unique abilities.

"As how I know why won't you turn on me as soon as we leave? I know dragons have some sort of code of honor, and even if you can be deceptive I doubt you'd stoop yourself that low. I also know Toothless would maul you if you touched me" and Toothless huffed showing that he would go against his own Kin to protect his Rider.

"But it's not because of those reasons why I know you won't turn your back on us." He paused to draw in a deep breath, carefully choosing his next words. Hiccup was feeling apprehensive, since he had no way of knowing if his own words would have any effect on the white dragon in front of him.

"I know you won't do it because I trust you. I trust you won't do that" he spoke softly, looking at those sapphire blue eyes… eyes that held many emotions Hiccup was familiar with. He could see that the dragon knew what was to be an outcast, to be shunned out because of his different abilities. He knew not much of the dragon's past, or why he hated so much Vikings, but Hiccup knew that this dragon saw something special on him to him come out alive after being face-to-face on Dragon Training.

Windwalker carefully heard the hatchling explain. In fact he didn't need to hear the boy's reasons to follow him. He already planned doing so the moment he was named. He wanted to know more about this human, and perhaps he could show more about dragons in return.

Being a dragon meant he could sense the boy's feelings, and he could sense that the boy understood what it felt like to be an outcast, and that Hiccup knew he felt like this. Even if he could just see Hiccup's memories, he wished to know more him personally, to be near this so un-Viking Viking and to see what fruits his genius would bear.

But he would have never guessed that this human's reasons were as simple as trusting him, even if he didn't fully trust the boy. He was also speaking the truth. He was a misfit among the dragons due to his abilities. Although feared, he was often despised by those bold enough to do so. It is only because of this that in the chain-of-command he was behind the Night Fury.

'You speak true words, and your intentions are truly kindhearted. All my years and I have never seen a human like you.' He answered, lighting Hiccup's hopes up.

'Even dragons I have met paled to show such kindness to me as you're doing.' He added with a longing voice. Hiccup saw that, just like he once wanted to be accepted by the village, the white dragon before him wanted to be accepted by his Kin.

'You speak with wisdom beyond your age and time, and I can see you have felt feelings no one should. I'd be honored to follow you in your journey' he finished, and with that the dragon bowed to him.

Hiccup was jaw-dropped a little at the show of respect, and feeling a bit shy because of it. "T-thanks. But please, there is no need to that" he said, referring to the bowing action. He felt rather embarrassed to see the dragon, a Fury no less, bow to him as if he was some sort of chief. He saw dragons as an equal, and he wanted Windwalker to do nothing but the same.

"There is one last thing I ask of you before we leave…" he didn't say. He just stretched his hand out and looked away, much like he did with Toothless before. The dragon, standing from his bow, looked firstly frustrated that the hatchling was already asking things from him.

But then he looked confused at Hiccup's action, then a bit awed at what his action meant once he finally understood it. Seeing Toothless cooing and nodding confirmed what he suspected that Hiccup's action at the moment meant.

He looked at Toothless again, who gave an encouraging nod, then back at the boy's hand.

.

.

Closing his eyes, Windwalker pressed his snout at the boy's hand. Hiccup gasped, noticing how different his scales were from the other dragons. It closely resembled Toothless', although they felt more like glass, and they were very cold, just like snow. Perhaps it was because of this that he could reflect sun light. And he was much colder than the normal dragon.

Once both opened their eyes, sapphire met emerald, and no words were exchanged… until a couple of seconds later. 'Now, shall we go?' Windwalker said as looked at the gate. A bit of excitement escaped through his voice, though whether if it was because Windwalker was joining him on his journey, or because the dragon would freely fly after being imprisoned for so long Hiccup did not know.

Still, he grinned, a smile so big that it was ear-to-ear. It was basically same way he smiled when Astrid bonded with Toothless back at the Cove. He had felt that Toothless would have liked to bring her in his departure, but also that he understood why it wasn't possible. Now that Windwalker was bonded to him, he was set to leave.

"We shall" And with that the Furies left the Arena in all their grace.

.

.

They missed a blond looking at them, a couple of tears on her widened eyes but also a proud smile. Astrid had gone back to the village and was about to enter her house when she heard a noise from the Arena. She had no desire of joining the Hall after his departure, so it was only natural that she had been surprised when she arrived in time to see Hiccup bonding to the deceptive dragon every Viking and even some dragons feared.

She had to admit, the moment she had seen Hiccup standing before the deceptive Fury panic erupted inside her, until she saw the dragon bow. From that moment until they were ready to leave the Arena her mouth had been wide open, and awe ran freely through her. She didn't stop him, although she hoped the dragon's disappearance wouldn't hinder his runaway. She had cried slightly again, as all those feelings she felt earlier came briefly back again, while seeing both Furies take off. But she also saw them fly away with a smile.

The next day…

Stoick felt like his heart was being ripped apart from his chest in the most agonizing and painful way after reading Hiccup's letter. He felt they were on nice terms after their whole talk yesterday, only to find out that Hiccup left because the boy didn't want to disappoint him. He felt responsible for Hiccup's departure and even that his boy went on a mad quest to bring a Night Fury back to his father, all because he still didn't feel accepted by his father.

Stoick, Astrid and Gobber had had a private conversation after Stoick called them to discuss Hiccup's unexpected departure. She did her best to reassure Hiccup's intentions on the letter were true, and that searching for him would end up insulting him. Stoick ended agreeing with the blond, but Gobber didn't.

He knew the boy good enough to see that this wasn't something he would pull off from all of a sudden. If Hiccup really wanted to hunt the Night Fury he would have tried on the next raid, just like he always did. And he suspected Astrid knew the real reasons of why Hiccup left, even though he couldn't pinpoint what could be.

He knew Hiccup had finally won his father's pride, the tribe's respect, and he figured out that, seeing the way Astrid spoke of him during their conversation, he had won back her friendship sometime last night.

There was apparently no reason that he would leave other than the one written in the letter. Still, something at the back of his mind nagged him that there was something amiss. The village cheered when Stoick announced the reason for his boy's departure, and soon the lad became Hiccup the 'Promising' around the village.

When news arrived that the White Fury had escaped, the blacksmith tried to voice his thoughts to Stoick: that the dragon manipulated his son to free him and had left with the boy. His thoughts were overshadowed when Astrid suggested that the boy took the dragon to track down the unholy offspring and lighting itself, since the White Fury was the only known dragon relative to the infamous Fury.

Furthermore her claim was backed up by Fishlegs' knowledge about dragons, and the assurance that Hiccup was too smart to be deceived by the deceptive Fury. Dragon Training was put on hold since the shocking release of the White Fury, and no longer would the Nightmare be killed (much to Astrid's relief as she had been named the 'honor' of doing so), since Stoick didn't have the heart to see someone other than his son do it.

Gobber confirmed his suspicious that the blond warrior knew of something when she proposed a marriage contract for Hiccup and her once he returned. Stoick was surprised, to say the least, at the proposition. The three were sitting around the table inside the chief's hut.

After they had gone to the Great Hall announce Hiccup's departure, they came back to discuss the disappearance of the White Fury. It was after the discussion was finally settled that Astrid gave the idea.

"What?" asked an astonished Stoick to a slightly blushing Astrid. She had thought it would be a way to repay Hiccup and amend things with him the day he returns to Berk. She refused to believe that he would never come back, and a marriage contract would also prevent him from going out again. She would be legally able to drag his butt back to their house should he return and try to leave again.

She cleared her throat while trying to erase her blush, before speaking, "You heard it right Sir. I would like to propose a marriage contract with your son for when he return." She said, with a serious tone and heavily trying not to blush deeply. Especially when Hiccup's words came back to her…

Stoick, seeing the girl was not playing around, decided to know her reasons. "And would you tell me why you want that? I understand he informed you of your future position as heir and I don't recall having him mention a marriage contract. Besides, do you have your mother's consent?" he asked, recalling how Hiccup said he'd be safer sleeping near a Nightmare than marrying Astrid.

"Yes, I spoke with her and she allowed me to go forward to the idea. As to why I believe a marriage would strengthen my position as heir to the tribe. While he may not have mentioned a marriage contract I think some of the villagers will find my position questionable due to the lack of bond with the Haddock bloodline." She answered honestly, but also trying to leave out the little talk she and Hiccup had.

Gobber eyed the girl, that wasn't the only reason she proposed this. "Is that so? There is nothing else? If I do recall yeh two were on unfriendly terms after he was named champion and yeh were almost jumping on him with that axe of yehrs." he smirked when the blond shot him daggers through her glare.

Stoick, seeing that his friend was right, gestured so that she would talk. "Well… he is right. Hiccup and I… talked when he gave me the news that I would be named heir. I saw I did wrong in distancing from him to focus exclusively on training." both Vikings nodded. They were familiar to why Astrid trained hard, though only Gobber had seen her distancing from Hiccup. Stoick only acknowledge this at that moment.

"And we amended it. I decided that my first act to value our amended friendship would be this proposition. Hiccup accidentally said during our conversation that…" She had to restrain herself from saying 'That I would be the only women he would ever marry'. "...that he had a crush on me for a long time." she blushed, remembering when he said those words, and was grateful that she held herself from letting out too much information.

Gobber laughed, trying to picture his apprentice's face when he let that out to the girl he had a crush. He was also surprised that Hiccup managed to say that. Stoick laughed, although because of the oddity of their conversation. Both men tried to imagine what else the two young Vikings talked about, and having their dirty minds made them slip into what the teens could have done the night before. Both restrained themselves from lingering longer on this kind of thoughts before they embarrassed themselves.

"All right" Stoick beamed, happy that his boy was becoming a man. He could only fantasy how would Hiccup return from his journey: big, muscled and taller, while at the possession of the body of the elusive Night Fury and the White Fury chained like the animal they were. "Still, you need to provide a dowry. The other aspects of it can be negotiated once he returns." The chief suggested.

Gobber knew this was a delicate situation. He wondered if the lass thought about that before proposing the idea as her family wasn't rich since Finn's death.

The girl stood and went to a corner, then brought with her a shield and an axe. She had returned to the cove and taken the shield stuck in there once this idea crossed her mind. "I give my axe and this shield as a dowry. Does it cover it?" she asked, trying not to show uncertainty, while putting the two items on the table. Hiccup was the son of a chief, so it was only natural that his dowry would be somewhat expensive, and she was not from a rich family, so there wasn't much she could offer, making her somewhat afraid that this idea would not go forward.

Stoick looked at it, and recognized from what Gobber told him that it was the first axe Hiccup did. As for the shield he didn't know where it was from, only that it was in pristine conditions, therefore having a reasonably high value. Since he knew not when Hiccup would return, he would value way more her axe than it was really worth.

"Very well… It covers it. I suggest we let the dowry in his room until he returns. As he probably told you, you'll be shadowing me on the next days to learn the duties of a chief. If you want, you can use his room while he is away." Stoick suggested. It would do good to have her company around the house. He recalled how empty it felt after Val was taken by that dragon, and he didn't want to go over it again.

Astrid was too busy trying to hide her blush to see the longing look the Chief had. Gobber, however, didn't miss. He knew his friend liked the company of his son, despite being clumsy as he was, and often causing trouble, at least before the whole Training thing. He knew Stoick liked his son much like he himself did and would dearly miss the presence of the boy.

Gobber knew that, although Stoick was beaming with pride for Hiccup, a part of him would miss him, a part of him was blaming himself that the boy would go track down the dragon no one has seen because he didn't see himself an honorable heir, as the tribe, including his father, made him believe. Neither man, however, remembered that Hiccup had called at the last raid that the Night Fury had been shot down and crashed near Raven Point.

He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. The two shared a silent conversation by looking at each other's eyes. Both understood the boy would be missed, and that Gobber would be there for his friend.

Astrid watched the scene. She didn't understand what were they silently telling each other, but presumed it was about Hiccup. Nonetheless, she put aside any thoughts on the subject when Stoick rose from his chair and took the dowry to Hiccup's room.

When Stoick was climbing the stairs, Gobber turned to Astrid. "Say lass. How will yeh train without an axe? Yeh know that yeh can't use it anymore right?" he asked, out of curiosity, and also voicing Stoick's own curiosity. Both men knew how Astrid was focused on her training, and how she liked very much her own axe. Even if the blond was determined on this idea, Gobber didn't think she would give up her training for that.

"Yes Gobber. I am aware of that. I have another axe to train, so I won't be weaponless" she didn't mention Hiccup made it for her. Why she didn't say, she did not know, but she felt like it would be better to hide it. Maybe a part of her thought that she would recall their conversation if she spoke he did it, though she was not certain of this. She took the weapon and showed to Gobber.

The man's eyes widened looking at the weapon. He vaguely remembered seeing this kind of metal only once… she looked at Astrid, who was looking at the axe with a longing face. She missed the dawning expression he had, or the thoughtful look his face had for a mere second.

It would take awhile for her to be able to look at this axe without remembering his departure, or the things they said to each other. But, as a Viking, she would suck it up, like she always did.

He gave the axe back to the lass before speaking. "Say… did he tell you he was going to leave when yeh two talked?" he asked, making Astrid stiffen for a moment. But, unlike Hiccup, she could hold the pressure, and the fact that Gobber did not seem demanding when he asked this eased her a little. She answered his question by just shaking her head.

He sighed, before his gaze fell on her axe again. An idea popped on his mind and he quickly spoke up, "If yeh excuse me, I… have work at the forge to do. Tell Stoick I'm there if he looks for me" and with that he left the house. He went to the forge as fast as a peg legged man could do, wondering that maybe Hiccup had forged something to him before departing.

Once he entered there, he tried to find any evidence of what the boy planned, or did. It was clear to him the boy forged that axe to Astrid, probably yesterday since he wasn't at the Hall celebrating. And he had a feeling that Hiccup wouldn't have forged said axe if he didn't plan on leaving Berk. Gobber hoped that somewhere in his apprentice's room there was a clue to where could have the boy gone.

He was about to enter his apprentice's room, hoping that in Hiccup's mess thee would be some clue about the real reasons to why the boy suddenly departed, when he saw a note hanging on top of a piece of cloth. By the way the cloth was dropped it was obvious that it has hiding something from plain sight. Gobber took the note and felt his chest tightened when he recognized Hiccup's handwriting after opening it.

He actually shed a tear when he finished reading it. Unlike Stoick's, the note addressed to him thanked his support those years and how he had been a fatherly figure. He unwrapped the cloth and his jaw dropped when he saw the hammer prosthesis made on the same forging method he made that axe. He noticed it had even some runes written, hidden among the surface of it, showing how much care Hiccup put on making the hammer. Gobber had no doubts after that: Hiccup had definitely planned on leaving Berk, and from that day onwards, Gobber felt partially responsible for Hiccup's departure.

From this day onward, everyone had seen Gobber use a shiny hammer on the forge, always with a sad smile on his face, Astrid shadowing the chief and basically living in his house. People had been surprised, some even more when the marriage contract was announced, some when they saw the new axe the girl had. When asked about it all she answered, with a proud smile, was that 'it had been a gift from a close friend'.

.

.

...

Hiccup flied off from Toothless' saddle, and braced himself as he saw the wall approaching. When his arms collided with the stone wall he let out a weak yelp before finally colliding on the ground. There were black dots on his sight, even though he could barely see his surroudings. He rolled to his back, but was too tired and too hurt to search out for Toothless. Windwalker was apparently hidden as he had instructed earlier, and he blacked out shortly after gazing at the moon in the dark sky.

He didn't notice a pair of shocked cerulian blue eyes looking at his limp form, her slim body stiffened at his sudden appearance...

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**_Does anyone read those AN's I leave after the chapter ends?_**

**_Anyway… there we go: a final goodbye to Berk. It may seem unnecessary this chapter, or as a filler as some would call, but this is actually to wrap up Hiccup's ties with Berk, and will, in the future, be the reason behind Astrid's behavior. Before any of you ask me about Hiccelsa I'll just say: I'm not very open about the romantic direction of this story, since it's not my main focus. That said I leave to you all wonder what pairing I will feature. And if you feel like, feel free to share with me your thoughts through a PM or review, I'd love to hear you all._**

**_And don't expect to see another chapter so soon. I'll probably return to How to Become a Dragon Chief, so it'll be awhile before I update How to Let It Go._**

**_Until next time!_**


	8. Chapter 8

_**AN: Hello my fellow readers, and welcome again to another chapter of How To Let It Go. I'm afraid I have bad news for all of you. As I'm focusing on my HTTYD story, this one has been put on hold. I have a chapter or two written so this won't be this last year's update, but don't expect more than another update from this story until the second week of January. I'll finally be on vacation (yes my classes end right before the New Year and we have a three day test marathon) and will be able to pump out many chapters for all of my stories.**_

_**so, review responses:**_

_**Anya Ishikawa: Tahnk you, I'm very happy that you're liking the story so far. As of the pairings I have finally decided on them, but of course I won't say them. It would ruin all the fun. Your logic, in theory, makes a point, but let's remember that he'll be on Arendelle for at least almost 6 years. Much can happen... I hope my plans won't disappoint you all. And try to read the ANs (such as this one0. It means a lot to me.**_

_**Hospitaller1080: Well you'll find out soon enough. there are previews from Hiccup's time in Arendelle so keep it tight, we're almost there.**_

_**icecrystal1999: It's no problem, you don't need to be signed in. A nickname is more than enough for me to address you. And yes I am putting romance, but it'll take a while before it appears.**_

_**Noctus Fury: As I said earlier I have finally decided the pairings. While you're right, I won't say that this will be a Hiccstrid story or it won't be. I want you all to figure it as the chapter keep coming. I understand your reasoning, and I too think the same thing, but my lips (or fingers?) will remain tightly sealed about the pairings for now. I want to keep it a surprise, just like I am doing with How To Become a Dragon Chief.**_

_**Guest: As I told guests before a nickname is very appreciated since I can properly reply to you if you have one. And well, all i can tell is to keep checking this story, things are about to get rocky as Hiccup's arrivel on Arendelle approach. **_

_**And, without further ado:**_

_**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

It has been weeks since Hiccup left Berk. Windwalker, although a bit wary of talking about certain subjects, was much friendlier since they left the island. It also helped Hiccup that he had someone to talk to and that could answer him, even if it was a dragon. Windwalker, much to his surprise, turned to be hugely wise, and much older than what Hiccup initially thought.

The young dragon rider always chuckled whenever he thought of how Fishlegs would hyperventilate out of excitement if he ever had a conversation with the newly nicknamed 'wise Fury'. This nickname came after he got to know better Windwalker, and felt that the title of 'deceptive Fury' was too bashful for the dragon.

Hiccup soon began looking at Toothless and Windwalker as more than just his friends. Toothless became a brother to him, and he suspected that the dragon shared the same feeling, while Windwalker, friendly yet wise became some sort of mentor; always helping him improve his combat and sharing wisdom whenever they talked. The dragon seemed to be older than Toothless from his deep knowledge, and once he got over Windwalker's hatred for Viking completely, the dragon became family as well.

He also turned 15 years old during his travel. Besides some regurgitated fish from both Furies (as if from Toothless wasn't enough) he had also won some scales from Windwalker, as he suggested Hiccup could try doing some sort of armor out of it, or use on Toothless' tail. Dragon scales, as Windwalker told him, could be melted, but until Hiccup figure out how he would melt and mold them, he kept them stored in a satchel on Toothless.

The moments they weren't flying or resting or eating, Hiccup was practicing his sword fighting with the help of Windwalker. Since he was experienced on fighting against swords and could talk, he had decided to train Hiccup once said boy had proposed the idea of learning how to defend himself should they ever be departed from one another.

They kept travelling southeast, where, according to Windwalker, dragons were rare and thus considered myths. He figured that, until Windwalker could tell him what caused the raid and either he or Toothless showed him the Nest, they would lay low. According to Johann's maps, where they were headed the people still spoke and wrote Norse and, although coming from Viking lineage, they were organized in kingdoms. Little was known, though, as few traders dared to venture out of the Archipelago in the last 300 years.

Using the tools he had taken from the forge back in Berk and the leather they acquired from skinning their catches, Hiccup was able to sew a saddle for Windwalker and modify Toothless' tail throughout the journey. He also managed to create an autonomous emergency tail for Toothless after they ended up separated in a forest and Hiccup being hunted by wild boars. Luckily Windwalker had been too overprotective to stray too far from the boy, so Hiccup was saved from a pack of boars by a very not amused Fury.

He also had to endure a week of an overprotective dragon following him everywhere and chastising him for his 'irresponsible and childish behavior that could have ended in his cold, dead body being eaten by hungry boars while crows picked the rests and drank his blood'. Needless to say Hiccup had a week of nightmares featuring crows and boars.

After the tail had been mixed with Hiccup's original one so they could switch without having to change it, he made a saddle for Windwalker to both carry out important items so Toothless wouldn't be overloaded and in case Hiccup would need to ride him. Riding Windwalker after meeting those boars had been painful for Hiccup behind, and very difficult for the dragon to not let the boy fall from his back. The saddle itself held a raw design, since he couldn't afford nor had the tools to make a saddle as sophisticated as Toothless'.

Seeing the reason behind the young one's actions, Windwalker had complied with having a saddle, although his was different from Toothless'. Since Hiccup wasn't going to ride it often, he tried to make it as comfortable as possible to the dragon, rather than to himself. And since it did little to disturb the dragon's back, Windwalker accepted to wear all the time the saddle.

Their travel was going smooth so far. Hiccup, a few times, had stopped in some small villages to exchange the exceeding hide for metal and to use their forge. Since these tribes were small they happily accepted his generous offers, while none of them had heard of the White Fury's escape from Berk, or even knew what dragon was that.

All was going smooth until one day…

One day they landed in a small rock island, which oddly was flat rather than unleveled like Outcast Island; and Hiccup decided to try some forging. "Alright guys. Let's take a break here. The rocks are flat, so it would be good to modify some of our gear. We don't know when we'll have the next opportunity." He said as he took some fish from the bags and gave to Toothless.

Windwalker, on the other hand, preferred to go fish his own fish. Because of this, Hiccup always removed the saddle off from him so he could go eat without any discomfort. He had not been able to waterproof the saddle, and Hiccup didn't fancy making another one so soon. 'It seems a nice idea young one. I'll be back shortly' and with that he went to grab some fish at the sea.

Hiccup, while waiting for Windwalker to return with a fresh catch, made a small campfire. He always had a bag filled with twigs in case they landed on an island like that: devoid of trees. He sat and began cooking his fish silently while his back leaned on Toothless, who was currently lying on the ground and eating some raw fish. Windwalker always brought them fresh fish to store, since Toothless, although he could, wouldn't fish so the tail wouldn't rust from wetting.

"Well bud, it seems like we'll sleep here today. We might as well check out our gear, don't you think?" he asked Toothless, who in return crooned in agreement. After eating the fish he cooked, Hiccup checked the tail and especially the autonomous part to see if there was any need for fixing it.

He stopped at some tribes to trade the spare hide and fur he acquired from skinning animals for metal and journals, though those times had been few. Most of the modifications on his tail were only possible because he had had access to a forge so he could smith new parts, especially for the autonomous setting. He never tried using Toothless' fire for forging purposes however…

…Until now "Bud? Do you think you can heat some metal for me with your fire?" he asked, after giving a thought or two to the idea. The dragon looked at him and seemed to ponder the idea, before slowly nodding. Hiccup had seen the Night Fury use a continuous jet of fire instead of the signature plasma blast before going to sleep. And it was hot enough to melt rocks, so it could probably also melt metal.

While Windwalker was fishing, Hiccup and Toothless, using some scrap metal he had, tried through trial and error heat it properly until he could make a simple connecting rod. After many failures, and wielding some useless broken shards of metal, Hiccup was able to make a robust connecting rod using Toothless' flames as a heat source.

Windwalker was just returning full of fish between his lower wings and paws, when he heard Hiccup shouting in happiness. While he was a four winged dragon, he could fly using only a pair of wings, though that severely hindered his speed and maneuverability. He usually didn't fly like that, but since he wanted to bring loads of fish for the other Fury and the boy he decided to use a pair of wings to hold more fish.

"YES BUD, WE DID IT!" Hiccup shouted before Toothless happily jumped at his rider's enthusiasm. Hiccup ended up pinned down and licked by the dragon. "Okay, okay bud." He said between licks, "You can stop licking me now overgrown reptile." He added before standing up and after cleaning himself from Toothless drowns. Briefly after hear a draconic laugh he grew familiar with as he travelled.

He instantly recognized it as being from Windwalker. 'I see you're quite happy. Care to tell what I lost while fishing for you two spoiled babies?' he asked in a teasingly tone. Hiccup, as he found out begrudgingly, hated being treated like a hatchling, and Windwalker soon found out this was a great way to tease the boy. In revenge, the boy found out that said dragon always felt indignation for being called 'overgrown salamander' or especially: 'grandpa'.

"Well, I was able to forge a connecting rod by using Toothless' fire as a heat source. It still isn't as good as using a conventional forge, but I believe that we can perfect through more trial and error. Maybe by using it I'll be able to melt the scales you guys gave me, since a forge' fire wasn't able to." He said, recalling the innumerous times he smuggled the scales at the forges, only to find out it wouldn't melt, and the burns he won when collecting back the scales without letting someone see them.

It had been a curious thing that Hiccup found out during their travel. He discovered that Windwalker's scales were cold because the dragon had an icy breath instead of fire breathing. Only myths on Berk stated that he shoot ice, and since he never used it on Training there was no way no one could have certainly known this.

When he had seen his friend shooting ice from his mouth, aiming for the boars about to feast on his body, the first thing that Hiccup had felt that moment had been was dread. A dragon that shoots ice was a force to be reckoned with, since, theoretically, he would be able to block any kind of attack. But soon he found out he had nothing to fear, as Windwalker would never dare hurting him.

"You're right, even though I'll never get over the fact that you breathe ice. Especially ice that doesn't easily melts. It's quite fascinating, even though considering the fact that I already knew that not every dragon breathed fire, like a Changewing or a Scauldron. I'm sure Fishlegs would be overjoyed to study your ice's properties…" he commented as his thoughts slowly lead his mind back to his home… friends… mentor… to his father, and to her.

Windwalker watched silently as his hatchling grew quiet. He presumed that it was normal that the boy would feel homesick every now and then. After all, Berk had been where he spent his entire life. He noticed throughout the journey that the place gave him different emotions, sometimes good ones, sometimes bad ones, and guessed that this happened depending of which memories he remembered whenever he felt homesick.

Hiccup snapped out of his little memory travel a couple of minutes later. "Anyway…" He said with a slightly shaken voice, a sign that he had not remembered good memories of his birthplace "I'll give a shot to this with Toothless later, to see if we can melt the scales together. That way I'd be able to cover your saddle with those and fireproof Toothless' tail." He suggested, figuring the dark dragon deserved some rest for the moment.

'Wouldn't it be uncomfortable for you to use a saddle built out of scales?' Windwalker asked a bit confused, even though he liked the idea. Having a brown saddle disrupted how he could use sun light as a weapon through reflection, and he never liked the color in the first place.

"Well…" Hiccup stated thoughtfully, "It would, sort of. But since I rarely ride you, and your ability to reflect sun light is affected because of the saddle, I guess coating it with your scales would be better." He explained.

"If we do manage to melt them together I think it would hinder a bit their ability to reflect, but it still would be better than just the saddle, don't you think?" He asked, since the White Fury held lost of wisdom, he felt like needing his opinion.

Said dragon thought about it. It was certain that melting them together would partially change how they reflected the sun light. But the boy had a point. During this travel, he had only been ridden by the boy twice, and coating it in scales would let him regain his ability to blind opponents in combat, an ability he lost when he accepted having a saddle to share the baggage with Toothless.

'I agree with you. You do have a good point. Let me know if you succeed melting them together, then we can see how we will coat the saddle.' He answered the boy. Satisfied with Windwalker's answer, Hiccup took the fish the dragon pilled before landing, and dried some of them to store in the bags. The rest he gave to Toothless eat so they could later continue their testing.

Human and dragons rested together, and the noise of the waves clashing against the rock was the only thing they heard. They gazed at the sky, looking at it as they waited for the hours to pass by. It wasn't until sunset that the silence between them was broken.

'You know Hiccup… if you succeed, you could try forging some sort of armor for you from these scales. While you efficiency in sword fighting increased, you have little protection on yourself' the dragon pointed out. In fact, Hiccup had no armor, or even a shield whatsoever. Thereby his protection was almost exclusively relied on the Furies, even if he one day would become a great swordsman.

Hiccup, however, had modified his jacket throughout the journey. Using leather he had acquired, he made a hood and a scarf to cover his face and head so he wouldn't freeze while flying, or be recognized when trading in a tribe that knew Berk. While he had added some leathery protecting to his jacket (while trying to avoid hindering the pockets) this was all he had for protection.

"I guess I could do so, but that would work mostly on my arms. Coating the chest in scales would obstruct the pockets I sewed on them, and I kind of need those." He remarked. The dragon agreed with him and both turned to watch the day end and night arrive.

A long moment of silence passed as they watched the blue-orange sky fade away with the sun, and slowly the dark night came out to show its great sky filled with shining stars and the ever present, yet lonely moon. It was truly a sight to behold, and because of the raids, it was a rare thing to watch it peaceful.

But since they were no longer on Berk, he and the Furies could peacefully watch the sunset. Windwalker, ever since he was freed by Hiccup, didn't lose a single sunset, after being so many years kept deprived of such sight. He had been imprisoned inside that underground Arena for years, and dearly missed mundane things like the chipping of birds, or the rustling of the leaves on a forest, or the sound a wind gust makes, or the beauty of watching the sun both rise and fall daily.

Hiccup watched fondly the white dragon marveling the sunset. It was moments like these that he didn't regret bringing Windwalker. Of all the dragons in the Arena he knew the White Fury was its oldest resident; he had seen all the other dragons being captured in raids when he was younger, the Monstrous Nightmare being Berk's youngest capture for obvious reasons.

Once the dragon finished gazing at the horizon, now black with shining stars, he spoke again. "Besides, we only have enough scales to coat his tail and your saddle. And since your battle ability is more important than a pair of scaled bracelets, I suppose it won't be any soon that I'll be looking like a two legged reptile" he commented amusedly. Windwalker and Toothless laughed a bit at the metaphor, with the former trying to imagine a scaled Hiccup and finding the image hilarious his imagination created.

"And before either of you complain about my safety, a scaled tailfin would prevent it from shredding apart or burning, and a coated saddle would allow you to attack better, therefore improving our chances of fight should we ever end up fighting someone." He pointed out a bit smugly, and he took the dragons' silence as an answer that he was right.

Toothless huffed and laid his head on his pawns. Windwalker sighed (or did something close to a sigh) before complying. 'Well, you're right. But let's not stretch too far our imaginations. You still need to figure a way to melt them properly, and mold them.' He pointed out, deciding to not enter the discussion about Hiccup's protection. Both he and the boy could be very stubborn at a given subject, and he didn't feel like discussing something so farfetched.

"I guess you're right… Let's rest for a bit and then later we'll do more testing. Toothless' flame must be quite low for using so much on our tests." He said while he patted the dragon as if he was asking to be forgiven for stretching out his friend. Toothless just nudged his rider's hand in response instead of making a sound. But that was all Hiccup needed.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

.

.

Hiccup felt his head pounding like an anvil had been dropped on top of it. But, considering his crash, and how he was still alive, he thought that this comparison was not as farfetched as it initially seemed. He opened and closed his eyes several times in a vain attempt to clean his sight. The world was blurry, and moving his head was excessively hard. He turned his head around, and his blurry sight spotted a lady before him, with platinum blond hair and blue eyes. "Are... you a Valkyrie..?" he asked before passing out.

Elsa gasped, recognizing his language as the Old Norse taught by her father, since knowing it was required from her position as heir. Her whole body froze, and her mind was lost in its sea of thoughts. She had no idea of what to do, and was equally afraid of helping him, and that this mysterious boy might die there.

She never noticed a black lump near the boy stirring before going still...

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_**AN: Smaller than the prior ones, but I did that so the next chapter wouldn't be too small. Hiccup's travel will be shorter than his runawau from Berk so no need to worry. He will eventually tell Elsa about his travel, but that will obviously be after they meet. As always, PM me or let a review with suggestions, criticism and/or your opinion. They all are very welcome**_

**_Until next time!_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**An: Hello fellow readers, and welcome to the last chapter of How To Let It Go of 2014 (or the first one of 2015 for my Europeans, Asian and Oceania readers). I'm sorry if this chapter took awhile to be uploaded. My depression has struck me deeply, and I was afraid it would have affected the quality of this chapter. I haven't recovered from it, but I feel this chapter is up to par with the others.**_

_**So, to the reviews:**_

_**Noctus Fury: You'll know soon enough. After all, these are just sneak peaks at what will happen once Frozen and HTTYD meet. Also, Hiccup's armor might take some time before it fully becomes true. Let's remember that he's wearing a sort of jacket for practical uses during his travell We all have fictional crushes, and indeed both Astrid and Elsa are simply astonishingly beautiful. My other story's name is How To Become a Dragon Chief, not Becoming a Dragon Chief as you said. Still i'm happy to know that there is another reader that reads both of them. Feel free to also review that story, and if you're looking for Heathercup, check my third story Searching for Echoes of the Past. You should make a fanfiction account so you can PM me; I have the feeling there is a lot you'd like to say.**_

_**K-the-Queen-of-Typos: Thank you, but I don't really think i am an amazing writer. I have begun writing only a few months ago, while there are others that have been writing far longer than me. R2-M0, my inspiration for this story, is a prime example.**_

_**Scorpion6955: Well, I advice you start liking Frozen before it fully arrives. Yes there will be plenty of Hiccup in my story, but also plenty of Elsa, and some other Frozen characters like Agdar and Idun.**_

_**Hospitaler1080: Nonononononono, this story is far from dead. And how did he crash... Well, you'll know soon enough.**_

_**I wish to all of you a Happy New Year, and I want to thank you all for reviewing, following or favoriting this story. You guys and ladies are amazing! So, without further ado, here's our newest chapter:**_

**xxxx****xxxx****xxxx****xxxx**

Once feeling well rested, Hiccup and Toothless resumed their tests. He decided to first try out Windwalker's scales since the tailfin would need more precision coating it, in comparison to the saddle. It took them almost an hour, but Toothless was finally able to heat the scales enough to make them be moldable. Their first few tries ended up in blown scales or shattered ones, but they, in the end, managed to heat them properly.

"YES, now I just need to mold it properly. Maybe I should make small holes to knit them into the saddle, or perhaps just make a saddle by fusing them together. Whatcha think?" He asked, his question directed to Windwalker since he was the only one capable of answering him. He had to know which method he'd use since he'd use the same one on Toothless' tailfin; therefore he had to know Windwalker's opinion.

'Well, if you knit them, there is the chance that the leather can be burned, while molding it would be more time consuming. I guess both have their pros and cons. It's up to you which method you find the best option.' Hiccup considered the words and thought for a moment, since, the dragon was right. Either methods would be time consuming and had their pros and cons.

"Well, let's just melt them altogether. It's not like we have some kind of schedule." He sarcastically noted, although with a light, joking tone. Windwalker just shook his head in amused disbelief after hearing this. He still couldn't get over at how Hiccup could be sarcastic at every possible situation, even if it was life threatening. He would never forget how the boy remarked that he was about to be mauled by living bacon before Windwalker rescued him from the boars.

They choose to spend a few days more at the tiny island since it was the best place they found to do his project. Hiccup would train with Windwalker at morning, then he would fly with Toothless in the afternoon, and then before they went to sleep he would work on the scales project. He always made sure that Toothless was well rested before the experiment and didn't stretch too far his friend's flaming capabilities.

This routine continued until the day Hiccup finally finished coating Windwalker's saddle. "Finally…" He said while wiping out the sweat formed in his forehead because of the heat, "So what you say: should we give a test?" he asked the dragon after weeping his hand again on his forehead, cleaning the sweat that still remained in there. The saddle was almost completely white, with only just a few metal parts showing out. All the leathery parts were either covered by scales or completely replaced.

'Well, let's see if your scrawny butt won't get sore by riding it.' He teasingly answered. Hiccup shook his head and hopped on the saddle after strapping it onto Windwalker. It felt less comfortable than riding a leathery one, but it still was surprisingly comfortable to him. One would think it was part of the dragon, and only an observing eye would notice the small metal parts standing out on the white coat of scales that Windwalker had. The scales from the saddle seemed to shine under the sun similarly to how his natural scales shined, so it meant that Windwalker could possibly use his ability again.

"All right, let's go." Hiccup said before they took off to fly. A couple of minutes passed as they flew and did air stunts, including some only Windwalker could do because he had 4 wings. After they got tired, they landed back on the island. Actually Hiccup was the one that got tired since Windwalker's stunts were ever more extreme than Toothless'. Hiccup, when he hopped off from Windwalker, mused for a moment how there was no better name he could have given to the dragon than this one back at Berk.

"Well. I must admit, the saddle is surprisingly comfortable." He said as he looked up at the sun. It was afternoon, the sky a mixture of blue and orange with the sun already touching the horizon. It wouldn't take long for the sun to set. He sighed, a bit disappointed. "Well, I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if you can do that reflecting thing with this saddle." 'Although the scales don't seem to have changed much when melting' he added mentally.

'It's okay. We have time; besides, I think it's time I finally told you more about the Dragon society.' Hiccup beamed at this, like a child who just won a Snoggletog gift. It was one of the subjects he hoped to talk with Windwalker: to know more about the dragons in general. He felt that, ever since he freed Toothless, there was much more than what they meet the eyes.

They passed the rest of the noon and a portion of the night speaking. Windwalker told him about the hierarchy within the Draconic society, the ranks each species had. Hiccup frowned when he mentioned his ranking and why was he second-in-command. Toothless, also hearing their conversation, crooned in support. He didn't like how Windwalker's species was cast out because of their unique abilities.

Hiccup understood well Windwalker's position; after all he himself had the same position basically at his village. But like him, Windwalker's differences allowed him to go further than any other dragon could, just like Hiccup went when he befriended Toothless. Toothless was happy that they were getting along, and so was Windwalker. Hiccup spoke to him as an equal, not out of fear or disgust like he was used.

The next day, after Windwalker successfully used his ability with the saddle strapped, he sat to discuss with Hiccup their course of action.

"Well, we could go back and dethrone the Queen. This way the raids would stop and we could convince Berk that we could coexist in peace. Although how we would do that I have no idea." He said, recalling how the white dragon with blue eyes told him about the nests; and how a Queen always ruled one. And it seemed that the Nest near Berk had a tyrannical Queen instead of a good one.

"Besides, we're at the end of the Barbaric Archipelago. Scandinavia is just a day from here by flight, I suppose. We could settle in Norway until we have planned carefully our course of action." He added, wishing to explore more the world before addressing this problem. He beamed happily whenever he learned something new on this travel, and the prospect of visiting a place few had since Vikings settled here fueled Hiccup's curiosity. Of course he would be able to do so because of his…odd transportation. Going by ship was no easy task, hence why few ventured outside of the Archipelago.

Windwalker analyzed the situation before giving his input. 'Well, yes. Given the Queen's size, it would take a good plan to dethrone her. And as I told you before, we are regarded as myths at these lands, so we could settle down for awhile without worrying that we would be hunted. You could work as a blacksmith at one of these kingdoms, since they probably still have this position in their society'

"Well, that's the thing. I'm pretty sure our fighting with the dragon left us disconnected with the world. I hope they do still need blacksmiths. Maybe I could learn some new techniques." Hiccup answered back, feeling hopeful that indeed blacksmithing was still practiced. He couldn't deny, however, the fear that should it no longer be practiced, or that his skills were obsolete, and therefore that he would have no way of earning his keep if they settled down.

"We just have one problem though…" he said a bit hopeless. The fear he had about the blacksmith subject was nothing compared to his fear regarding this subject…

Windwalker understood his point. 'Indeed we have. The Snow Belt would hinder severely our flight, especially since we are in the middle of winter. Why you Vikings sailed through it, even if you did when it was summer, is beyond my comprehension.' He shook his head in disbelief. One thing that he could never understand, and deeply hated, was the dumb Viking stubbornness. While Hiccup showed to be stubborn, much to Windwalker's relief the boy turned out to be stubborn without being a mindless creature.

Hiccup smiled at the antique "Well, we do have stubbornness issues. I guess that answers your question." He chuckled. This issue was also what held them from just dethroning the Queen. He knew Vikings wouldn't simply comply with the idea of coexisting with dragons after going through centuries of waging a war against them. A grudge was something Vikings deeply held, and they obviously held grudges to the beasts whenever they lost family in a battle.

He was packing his maps and tools on Toothless when he heard Windwalker shout. He gripped his head as the voice inside it gave him a nasty headache. 'Vikings! We need to leave, NOW!' The dragon said alarmed and within a minute after that he shot in the air, leaving Toothless and Hiccup in the island.

Windwalker went to engage the ships so he could buy Hiccup and Toothless some time to pack it up. Since they were about to face the Snow Belt, he would use only long range attacks so his wings wouldn't be damaged. The last thing they needed was a wounded dragon.

Hiccup hurriedly packed his stuff while Toothless was already positioned so his rider would hop on. Within a couple of seconds they were both in the air.

Windwalker met them once they were near the clouds. "So, what's the situation?" he asked the dragon. He was slightly surprised that Windwalker met them, but there was no sign of smoke in the air, or faint shouts coming from below. "And weren't you going to engage them?" Hiccup asked in curiosity.

'It seems like one of the vessels were being boarded. One of them didn't look like a Viking war ship. This is why I did not engage them; none of them saw us apparently.' He explained. Realization dawned on Hiccup.

"Pirates…" he spat the word. He hated Viking pirates just as his father hated dragons. It was one thing killing dragons; after all, Hiccup had been on this side of the war, until he met Toothless. But to be a pirate was deplorable, to the point where they were more downcast by him than the outcasts in Outcast Island.

"Toothless, bring us down a little. I want to have a look at the situation." The dragon complied and Windwalker followed suit. They flew just below the clouds, but that was all Hiccup needed. Pulling his spy glass, he gazed at the vessels.

"It seems like a fishing boat. They were probably boarded because they were bringing back their catch." He readjusted the spy glass as he noticed something odd. "The boat is carrying much more people than it was supposed to… What do we do?" He wanted to save them, since being captured by pirates would likely mean they would become slaves, but also didn't want to risk their lives. Not to mention the oddity of a single boat having so many people. Were they running from somewhere? Or going to invade somewhere?

'Well, we can cripple the vessel without much risk. Perhaps if you save them, you'll be heard. This could help us in the future when we come back to end the war. Considering that we do build up a plan that won't get us killed.' Windwalker thoughtfully noted. Hiccup nodded in understanding. A dragon rider would certainly yield a bad reputation, so if they saved the people in the boat being boarded at least they would improve, albeit slightly, their reputation.

"Alright… Toothless, do a dive bomb, Windwalker, try picking the pirates off from the fishing ship without being hit, or hitting the people on the boat. Toothless and I will go for the bigger one." He commanded, and with this Toothless and Windwalker dive bombed, producing their signatures screeches.

**xxxx**

Everyone stopped fighting to look at the skies. No one had ever seen a Night Fury in plain day, and only a few knew of the existence of the White Furies. And even if neither knew what species made those screeching the sound was more than enough to make them fear for their lives. Anyway, everyone screamed when they noticed both dragons zeroing at the vessels.

"NIGHT FURY, GET DOWN" was what most screamed.

"WHITE FURY, JUMP" those who knew about the dragon screamed, before jumping overboard. Almost everyone that knew about it was a pirate, since they acquired their dragon knowledge through their travels.

The only thing that they saw was a giant blue burst strike the pirate ship, instantly crippling their mast. It was shortly followed by an ice shard that hauled a giant hole at the side of the ship. The pirates on the ship tried to hit them with arrows, but the Furies maneuverability was no match for them.

Both dragons made a turn, though only Toothless ascended to dive bomb again. Windwalker flew close to the water to pick off the few pirates that didn't jump from the boarding vessel. Since they were focused on the Night Fury dive-bombing again no one saw Windwalker until he began tackling the pirates off from the boat.

Again another blue burst brightened the skies, transforming part of the sinking ship into a pile of flying wood wrecks. Windwalker, meanwhile managed to tackle the remaining pirates off the other ship. No one thought on attacking because everyone was shocked with the situation, or was in the middle of the cold ocean trying not to drown.

**xxxx**

Once the fishing vessel sailed far enough from the pirates, Hiccup approached them, but not before putting his scarf and hood. He didn't want to risk being recognized, even though he didn't remember visiting any tribes this South from Berk. The flapping of wings snapped them out of their shock and soon everyone onboard tried to grab a weapon to throw at the Night Fury.

Before they could attack, though, one of them shouted. "Stop!" he held his hands and everyone's attention landed on him. "There is something odd here, the dragons only attacked the pirates." he reasoned. Hiccup didn't know why he did it, but he wasn't going to complain. Apparently there was a Viking that could be reasoned with, and he was grateful for that.

It also seemed that this reasonable Viking, much to his happiness, was their chief, since only a few complained. "But what if they wanted to single us out?" some Vikings murmured in agreement. After all it was not every day that dragons saved a bunch of Vikings from pirates, even less when they faced an unknown species. No one paid attention to the name the pirates shouted as everyone was too busy covering themselves to survive a Night Fury's dive bomb.

"He's right" a voice came, and everyone looked in shock to see the Night Fury hovering in front of them, with Hiccup sitting on it. No one could see his face for he had his scarf and hood covering most of it. The shock of seeing a dragon being ridden, a Night Fury no less, soon turned into disgust and hatred.

"Traitor"

"He sided with the beasts"

"We should kill them while we have the chance"

"Silence" the chief's voice boomed.

He turned to address the rider. "What do you want?" he asked skeptically. While he wasn't wrong that Hiccup only attacked the pirats, the chief would still be cautious. He was smart enough to see how powerful a man could be if he managed to be riding a Night Fury, and considering how the dragon disposed of the pirates, it would be sheer stupidity to face them, especially at the sea.

Forest green eyes, the only thing visible of the rider's face, pierced on grayish ones. "I want nothing, I only took action since I both hate pirates and don't think anyone should be enslaved…" He paused, making the chief grow slightly tense. "However I would like to know why a fishing vessel is overloaded. You have more people than the necessary…" he pointed out.

The chief noted the second dragon circling them from above, while some cried out "Why should we tell you." The cries soon were silenced when the chief held his hand up. He remembered hearing a second shriek when the pirates were under attack. He couldn't see clearly the dragon flying above, but figured it would be following the mysterious rider, making him even more dangerous.

"We were heading North. Our small village has been raided, and we managed to hold them off long enough to leave it before being raided again. Unfortunately we have been followed, and when they reached us they boarded us." He said while some people lowered their gaze, as Hiccup noticed. He had read tales of distant times when Vikings raided each other's tribes, or even pirates. Luckily, Berk's problem with dragons was widely known and it sort of created a protection against being raided.

Then the chief's eyes widened. "My daughter, they took her. She was in the ship when your dragon blew it off." He spat when speaking 'your dragon' more for fear that the creatures ended his daughter's life than for Viking hatred.

Hiccup looked at Toothless and subtly nudged him to ascend so he could talk with Windwalker. Cries of "he's leaving" and "We should have taken him down" came from the boat, but the rider simply ignored it.

Once leveled with Windwalker, he called the dragon. "It seems like the chief's daughter was in the ship. Could you go back and try to find her. Hopefully she is alive despite the damage we've done." The dragon nodded at him and headed toward where the wreck was floating. They haven't gone too far from it, only enough for the pirates to be unable to board the boat again, so it was a short trip.

Wartog, the chief, noticed the dragon leaving toward the wreckage. He didn't know if his daughter was alive, or if the Dragon Rider would use her as leverage against them should she be. He could even kidnap the girl, since the pirates had taken her for her beauty. And, unlike with the pirates, they would have no power in stopping this from happening.

After a minute, the dragon returned. Wartog had noticed earlier it had four wings, though he was only using two. Some people began reading themselves, but he held a hand. The dragon stopped beside the Night Fury.

Hiccup was close enough to be heard, but far enough that they could easily avoid anything the Vikings throw at them, although, he noted, that few of them were armed. Windwalker gave him a subtle nod, indicating that he had found the girl. Turning his gaze to the chief he spoke. "Chief…" he began but trailed off, waiting for the man to say his name.

"Wartog"

"Very well… Chief Wartog, the dragon at my side found your daughter in the wreckage. He'll approach the boat to deliver her to you only if you promise no harm is to come to him." He pointed toward Windwalker, who was holding the girl with a pair of his wings.

Incredulous shouting began. Wartog quickly turned and boomed: "Silence!" Once everyone was quiet he continued speaking. "They could have easily killed us by now" he reasoned. A few tried to protest again, saying it could be a trap, but it was in vain. He held his hand again and spoke. "Besides, the dragon seems to have something in his wings. If she's in there, I will not risk losing her again by mere stupidity. No harm is to come to him, you hear me?" the people nodded, not daring to go against their chief.

He turned to Hiccup. "You have my word." With this Hiccup nodded to Windwalker, not before eyeing the chief to see if it was a trap. The white dragon slowly approached the ship. The people in it nested together as far as the dragon as possible, while Wartog was alone on the vacant space. Since they had orders not to harm the dragon, they wanted to keep as much distance as possible; especially considering none of them knew what species it was.

The boat rocked a little as the flapping wings closed by. When close enough, Windwalker slowly unfurled his wings, revealing a pale girl with raven hair inside it. Wartog carefully took the girl and put his head on her chest, searching for a heartbeat. His heart was beating so fast that it was almost escaping from his chest.

He smiled, almost crying, when he heard a faint beat. He noticed the girl had few injuries, which surprised him, considering the two thunderous blasts the Night Fury shot at the ship. She would need some medical attention and blankets since she was shivering a lot, probably from being so long in the cold ocean, but at least she had a good chance of surviving.

"Heather's alive… She's alive! You have my gratitude Rider" he spoke softly while the people cheered.

Hiccup nodded in thanks. "Sail to Berk and explain your situation to their chief. I'm sure you'll be able to find temporary shelter there. Maybe even live, but that's up to you and him to decide. I wish you safe travels and good wind." he instructed.

"Thanks, but let me ask something." Hiccup heard, and hesitated, thinking the chief would ask how he knew of Berk. Hesitantly, he nodded so the chief could voice his question:"Why help us?" the chief asked, voicing the curiosity of many, and everyone looked at the rider, waiting for his answer. Everyone feared the man as he had such dangerous arsenal, but he had freed them from the pirates and instructed them to safety, not to mention saved the chief's daughter. Even being extremely dangerous the man had shown only compassion for them, which was an uncommon trail among Vikings.

Hiccup, although very nervous, managed to answer the question with an even voice. "I hate pirates. I also saw you in need of help, and since I could help, I helped." He answered shortly and simply, not trusting his voice to hold off his nervousness much longer.

Some people smiled, while others were still wary of him. "Thank you" Wartog said, "We're in debt with you." He added. It was true, though by the face of some they didn't like it. Viking law state that a person, or even a tribe could be in debt with who saved their lives, and since the pirates would either enslave them or kill them before the rider appeared, he, as chief, was forced to recognize being indebted.

"There is no need for a debt." He said, much to everyone's shock. Even though none of them had anything to offer, it was still unheard of a Viking calling off the debt. Then again, it was unheard of a Viking riding a dragon, so the chief only added this as another surprising fact about the hooded person. "Take care of your people." Warthog was about to turn to set sail to Berk when Hiccup spoke again. "And…" once Wartog looked at him Hiccup continued. "Remember this: the dragons are not what we think they are. You all are proof of that." He gestured to them and to the dragons flying.

Some people snorted, while others reluctantly agreed. "We will remember. Farewell" the chief assured.

With that they flew away from the boat. Once distant enough, Hiccup took off his hood to address Windwalker. He sighed heavily while the tension was leaving his shoulders and his thundering heart was slowly coming back to its normal pace. He laid down on Toothless back, absently stroking his dragon before he spoke up "Well, that went better than we expected." The white dragon nodded.

"What should we do now? It's not like we can go back to the island. Word will pass around about us and I'm sure there will be people wanting to hunt us down. I doubt anyone that wasn't in that boat will like the idea of someone riding a dragon, a Night Fury. And sooner or later, someone is bound to discover you, if you're really the last White Fury from around here." He said, slightly apprehended since they were near outside the Barbaric Archipelago sooner than planned.

'Well…' he began, although with a slightly pained tone. Hiccup instantly regretted pointing out the situation of Windwalker's species. The dragon had told him how he and Toothless were probably the last Furies from the Archipelago. At least this part of it. Thankfully Windwalker spoke again before he could dwell into a guilt trip. 'I guess that since we're this close to the Belt, we might as well travel through it.' Windwalker reasoned.

Hiccup knew it was risky, but nodded. Together both entered the belt. The dragon's words calmed him enough to his confidence increase. His time with Windwalker had left him much more confident than he had ever been on Berk. Knowing the two legendary Furies would never leave his side made him feel courageous enough to face the unknown, even being nervous, fearful, and apprehensive about meeting it.

"Then let's go…"

**xxxx**

**xxxx**

Elsa froze when she heard a faint growl coming from the shadows of the tower. Her eyes couldn't see what was doing it, but she didn't need to see to know that it was dangerous. Hiccup, meanwhile, crawled toward the source of the sound, almost as if he knew what was causing it.

She stiffened in surprise when two green orbs appeared and were seemingly hovering in the air. They were similar to a cat's eyes, but Elsa knew that, because of their size, what stood hidden in the shadows was not a cat... "I'm okay bud, I'm sore and from the crash but I don't think I have any internal injuries, especially in my head. I'm talking to you after all." The boy said to the creature, as if it was a longtime friend of him.

Elsa's eyes widened when she saw a form appearing around the eyes as the creature stepped into the moonlight. She recognized it from the fairy tales she used to read to Anna, and even though a part of her urged her to be quiet because a creature from the legends was in front of her she still spoke...

"Is t-that a dragon?"

_**AN: do not misunderstand, there will be more chapters. This was only the last one to me, and some readers, that was published in 2014. happy new year to all of you**_


	10. Chapter 10

**_AN: Hello my fellow readers and welcome to another chapter of How To Leti It Go, and probably the chapter that many of you painfully waited to read. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I'm trying to deal with my depression these past weeks and it hasn't improved not even a bit so far._**

**_so, to the review response:_**

**_K-the-Queen-of-Types: Thank you. One of the things I found curious while writing this fic is that, even though Toothless will barely speak, let alone have his own POV like in How To Become a Dragon Chief, his relationship with both Hiccup and Windwalker turned out to be very different. It is almost as if the story itself crafted it that way. I also thank you for the kind words, although I disagree with some of them. I don't think someone (you) that has written 14 fanfictions so far has little seniority as you seem to imply. Your words didn't seem naggy or anything of the sort; it was actually sweet. You liked a lot the relationship I built, but I noticed you don't have a HTTYD fic written yet. Maybe you could give your own try at building this brotherly relationship if you like. If you want to give me any suggestions or talk about some ideas for a fic let me know through a PM._**

**_Hospitaller1080: Yup, I made alive past 2014. I might be struggling with my depression, but I assure you, none of my fics are going into hiatus._**

**_Guest: Again, do let a username so I can properly address you. About your confusion, it was probably caused by the lack of a line breaker. I think that if you read the chapter's end again this time it'll be more clear. If not, remember that I said a couple of chapters ago that I'd be posting at the chapter's end previews of Hiccup and Elsa meeting, for those too eager to see them together, or not too keenly interested in HTTYD alone._**

**_Scorpion6955: I heavily disagree with you regarding Frozen, but that's, I believe, is not a thing to be discussed here. I'll just say I'm glad that you'll keep reading it. As a reader of HTBADC I can understand wy you would think these paragraphs are chumky, compared to the recent chapters of the other fic. But it'll improve, just like HTBADC did. I'll try to update these paragraphs to the actualy strcture I'm currently using. most of those lines were, after all, written months ago I believe._**

**_Red Renegade 777:The first thing I had in mind when I began writing this fic was accuracy. I firstly wanted Hiccup to part in a friendly term with Berk, which lead to the first few chapters focused mainly on him, Astrid and Stoick. Then I wanted to write a bit about his journey to Arendelle, since obviously it would take awhile. This lead to these last few chapters. And I wanted Hiccup and Elsa to meet as realistically as possible,, which lead to chapters like this one and the few next ones. You could say nothing of extraordinary happens most of the time (no huge battles or romantic drama, as some other excellent crossovers do), and because of that this fic realies mostly on accuracy to keep things interesting. About my mistakes I admit that I was sleepy more than once, and on some ocasions sick, when I updated it, hence the repeated paragraphs. Since the second time it happened I'm putting more effort so mistakes like these don't go past me. You might have realized that HTBADC doesn't have this sort of mistake. I gave a double update to it, and am now uploading this chapter. I hope you enjoy it both, and that you have enjoyed Hurtful Words._**

**_Noctus Fury: I get more and more curious to talk to you personally (well, through PMs at least) as you post reviews on my story. I was slightly confused with your first paragraph; if you were talking about the rescue scene then worry not, there are more scenes to come. And yes, Heather is indeed in this fic, although she won't be as important as she is in How To Become a Dragon Chief. If you're elooking for Heathercup check out my other fic Searching For Echoes of the Past. You have a lot of interesting ideas, but, to keep the surprise for you, I won't say whether these are the ones I'm using or not. If you have any suggestions to give me, feel free to make an account and PM me at any time. That way we'd be able to discuss it._**

**_So, without further ado:_**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Berk, a few weeks later…

Stoick paled 10 times more than Fishlegs when Wartog told him what had happened. The Berkians murmured worriedly, both at what a man with control of such beasts was capable of doing, and that their promising heir went on a journey to track down this very creature. Few dared to imagine two Night Furies existed, so most stuck with the idea that the same dragon that attacked them would be the one being ridden.

To some it made sense, since a mindless beast wouldn't be able to think of crippling their defenses, and since nobody had ever seen it before, there was no way to know if it had a rider during the raids or not.

Some few people rumored that Hiccup sided with the beast once they learned from the description Wartog gave that the second dragon was the White Fury that fled, although Stoick quickly shut down this idea with threats. He refused to believe that Hiccup would side with the beasts; especially considering the amount of damage he had done on the village when trying to down a Night Fury. Some others thought the rider came and freed the dragon, then forged the letter before kidnapping Hiccup. This hypothesis quickly died down once Astrid relayed the information that Hiccup had told her: he had planned to leave. Some others rumored that Hiccup had found the elusive dragon, but had been killed by the rider, thus explaining why the White Fury was free.

Stoick, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. He asked the description of the rider but all Wartog could tell him was that he had a dark leather jacket and was using a hood and a scarf to cover his face. Some didn't believe that the dragon rescued the chief's daughter, but few paid heed to this fact. There were too many witnesses for the fact to be a lie, and even those wary of the rider relayed the truth.

Word soon began being passed around the Archipelago of the mysterious Night Fury rider, initially by traders. Warthog and his people had been allowed to live in Berk, and once Heather was healed she quickly became friends with Astrid. People had different opinions about the rider, but mostly only some of the people that had been on the boat saw the rider as a good sign.

**xxxx**

Hiccup, a few days later after the incident

"Are we done yet?" Hiccup yelled through the storm. They had begun travelling the Belt easily at the beginning, but met a fierce snowstorm at the end of it. Hiccup was afraid that lasting longer on it would severely damage the tailfin mechanics, to the point that it'd be beyond repair. And since they could only see water and mountains, it would be almost impossible to land and repair it.

Not to mention that if the mechanism broke they would certainly die, and he wanted to explore a little more before leaving this world.

'Almost there' Windwalker answered with a somewhat strained voice. Both dragons were nervously flapping through the air, trying to maintain balance and not get thrown out by the air currents. Windwalker and Toothless were panting, the huge effort of flapping their wings to maintain on course exhausting their bodies. And it was especially tiring for the white dragon, since he had an extra pair of wings to flap.

Once they finally passed through the storm, Hiccup sighed in relief and collapsed on Toothless' back. "We did it, we finally went through, didn't we bud?" he spoke as exhausted as the Furies were. While he was not the one flying he had to hold strongly to the saddle, otherwise his safety hook would snap and he would be thrown off from Toothless, a prospect he didn't want to face. There was also the fact that he had to constantly shift the prosthesis tail, having to, more than once, look back to mirror the real tail. The dragon crooned in response, also showing his exhaustion.

They lazily flew in silence, mostly gliding as they were using the new found air currents, while trying to recover from the storm. They were taking their time to slow down their fast beating hearts before continuing their journey. Unfortunately Windwalker broke the comfortable silence by speaking: 'There is a village up ahead, though it doesn't seem like anything what we know.' He informed.

Windwalker had been outside of the Archipelago, though it had been a long time ago, even before he began his vendetta against the Viking kind. Because of this he couldn't recognize the changes that had happened, but could remember whether or not the villages knew about dragons. And this was all that he needed.

Hiccup slowly and reluctantly sat up before taking his spy glass to look at said village. He was immediately mesmerized at the size of the village and the architecture. What caught the most of his attention was the castle. He knew a little about those kingdoms from the knowledge he was able to trade and from what Windwalker knew, but couldn't hold back his awe at finally seeing a castle.

After he managed to break off from his awe he spotted a forest near the town and smiled. "We can land in the woods, rest a bit, and continue our journey tomorrow. " he said while observing the giant forest around the castle.

He was so caught up with the village's visual that he didn't notice the trembling tailfin, until the rope snatched. Because of Toothless' sudden change in his flight pattern, Hiccup was startled, and would have fallen if he didn't have the safety harness hooked in. Luckily his spy glass didn't fall off, since he didn't have the schematics to build another one, or the proper tools.

Windwalker was startled as well, if they way he shouted Hiccup's name was of any indication. Hiccup turned his head and saw that the rope was torn, and the tailfin was also frozen. Since they flew in the same pattern since the storm, it made sense that neither would notice this. It was a relief that the tail froze otherwise they would be immediately plumbing to death.

"Windwalker. Circle above us. His tailfin is frozen and the rope snapped, so we can't change course. I'll have to break the ice and hold the tail; otherwise we will fall to our deaths. If anything happen, you'll be able to catch us before we crash." Windwalker shot a worried glance at Hiccup before nodding, and flew above them as the boy indicated.

The night was dark, and the light of the moon was barely able to illuminate them. For a moment Hiccup thought it was good, since it decreased the odds of being spotted, should anyone be awaken. "And, no matter what happen, we cannot make any sound. We can't afford to be spotted. And if we are, I need you to stay hidden, should we need back-up." He said, yelling to make sure that Windwalker would hear him and understand him.

Both dragons looked at him with worry evident in their eyes and reluctantly nodded. He slowly crawled to the end of Toothless' tail to break the ice. Toothless kept looking ahead so the air flow around his body wouldn't be hindered further, while Windwalker kept looking at Hiccup while circling them from above.

They were getting closer to the castle when he succeeded in breaking the ice. Although he succeeded, the change in the tailfin's position changed their direction, specifically toward one of the castle's tower. Since the rope was torn, there was no way he could change their course, at least not without turning to look, but risking falling off from Toothless. He was already strongly holding the tail and the tailfin to avoid that fact, and this was requiring his full attention.

Toothless emitted a low shriek, loud enough only for Hiccup and Windwalker to hear. An uneasy feeling set in his stomach, as he knew that could mean only one thing: they were probably too close to crashing for Windwalker to be able to rescue them. Knowing this, Hiccup could only address him before crashing. "Stay out of sight at all costs. Let's hope nobody will find us." He said, mumbling the last part before they hit the tower's window.

A few blocks, probably no more than half a dozen largely because of Toothless' small frame, came out with them since they passed directly through the narrow window. Toothless skid to a stop when his left shoulder hit the wall, but Hiccup wasn't so lucky. He was thrown off from Toothless' tail because of the momentum and hit hard the opposite wall, crashing into the ground.

He had had enough time only to put his arms in front of his head so he wouldn't have a severe concussion. Still he felt pain flow through his entire body when his body collided with the cold, hard stones.

Not only that but he also almost blacked out as soon as his body hit the ground. He barely managed to open his eyes, and did so only to find his vision blurry and someone looking at him… someone that had blond hair. "Are you a Valkyrie?" he dizzily asked before finally blacking out.

**xxxx**

**xxxx**

Earlier this day in Arendelle…

A 15 years-old Elsa was having her lessons with the Queen, her mother. Since the accident 7 years earlier, the Queen decided to take upon teaching Elsa, a job previously done by her tutors. Agdar, the King, would occasionally teach her along with her mother, but most of the times his duties kept him from doing so.

And since her power outburst 3 years before the actual day, this was pretty much the only kind of contact Elsa held with her mother. It was rare for the Queen to visit her daughter for a reason that didn't involve studying, although not because neither didn't want it, but because Elsa closed off again from everyone.

Elsa stood a little distant from her mother while they studied. It helped her that her desk was large, thus allowing her to have a certain comfort zone from her mother, and father, when studying. She feared hurting her parents if she was too close as they had nearly been in that incident.

She sadly didn't have any physical contact with her parents since the outburst.

They were in the middle of the last lesson of the day when Elsa started to doze off. While she was an avid reader, like her mother, and enjoyed most of the subjects she studied, mainly literature, she had a hard time trying to concentrate on learning all the names of the Royal chronology.

Not to mention that she was often haunted by nightmares during the night, therefore greatly reducing the quality and length of her sleep. While most of the times she managed to stay awake for the whole lesson this time she didn't, as the night had been particularly harsh on her.

She was barely half asleep when the same nightmare that haunted her ever since the beginning of the isolation came to her. Even sometimes when she was alone and closed her eyes those fateful events came back to her. Either they were mere memories, like when she hit Anna or the outburst she had when both her parents had been in her room, or nightmares of Anna or her parents dying, turning into ice because her powers had struck them.

Her mother noticed Elsa dozing off. She secretly shared the same feeling that her daughter had regarding the need to know Arendelle's lineage. Still, she had to learn it once she was married to the King, and Elsa, as princess, unfortunately had to learn too.

Unfortunately it was unbeknown to the Queen that the nightmare her daughter had the night before, made Elsa lose a good portion of her sleep time awaken. Otherwise she would have ended their lessons so Elsa could get some rest.

"Elsa?" her mother called, but, to her, it looked like that the princess didn't register it. "Elsa, wake up… we're almost finished for today." and again she didn't budge. Idun found this slightly odd since it was very rare of Elsa falling asleep during the lessons. While she could read that some subjects were clearly boring to her daughter she almost never had seen her fall asleep because of it.

"Elsa…" her mother dared nudging her lightly to wake up. She knew Elsa was afraid of being touched but shouting was not something she'd do to have Elsa wake up. Nudging her worked, although not the way both expected. The nudge, along with the nightmare, startled Elsa awake, who accidentally froze the desk in response. Her mother instantly recoiled when Elsa was startled; as she saw the ice and snow come out of thin air.

Elsa gasped once she became aware of her surroundings, and looked at her desk horrified. The once brown desk was covered with a layer of white snow, just like her books were. There was also a small part of the table with covered a bluish coat of thin ice, mostly centered where Elsa had touched the desk. She abruptly stood, the chair falling to the ground with the sudden action, as she took some distance from her mother.

She clapped her hands together while holding a frightened position, and looked fearfully to her mother. "Mother… are you…" she asked, her voice nothing but a trembling whisper, not daring to finish the sentence. She was too afraid that she had hurt another person who loved her, just like she did in here recurring nightmares.

"I'm fine dear." her mother spoke in a soothing way, while taking deep breaths to slow down her heart. "You have nothing to fear." She added. It pained her to see her daughter with a fearful look in her eyes, but even more so when Elsa made visible the gap that their relationship had.

Every time something like this happened, her mind instantly flashed a very vivid memory of that outburst Elsa had years before. And every time she felt like the girl: on the verge of tears. Not to mention that this moment she felt completely responsible for the outburst Elsa just had.

"H-how I have nothing to fear. I almost hurt you." she spoke with a broken voice. She didn't dare pointing to the desk for fear that her powers would come out if her hand was not close to her. "Just like I hurt Anna 7 years ago…" she finished in a whisper, as if Elsa was speaking to herself. Unfortunately Idun was close enough from her daughter to hear that and, much like Elsa, her heart was crushed by hearing this.

"You didn't hurt me Elsa, I assure you." When this did little to calm the whimpering princess, the Queen tried another tactic "And… if you want we can continue with the lessons later." she suggested softly, while trying to hide the sadness behind the idea of leaving so early Elsa.

It pained her to be unable to comfort her daughter. Sometimes she questioned if Agdar's plan didn't horribly backfire, for she clearly didn't remember agreeing to all end up like this, even though Elsa had been the one to shut off completely from them…

Elsa didn't find her voice, so she answered by giving a small nod. The room's temperature had dropped severely but Elsa didn't register that, while Idun decided not to voice out about the cold since it would likely make the already bad situation worse. When Elsa made eye contact with her mother, guilt flashed through her at seeing the pained look her mother's eyes held. The same happened to her mother when her grayish-blue eyes looked to Elsa's pacific-blue eyes.

She began replaying in her head the motto her father taught her when he first present the gloves. She squeezed her hands to feel the material as if it could comfort her. Truth was, losing her magic even when wearing the gloves only made her more afraid that she would never be able to control that, as she no longer felt safe wearing the gloves, for they no longer were being capable of holding off her powers. Still, a part of her believed that, with the gloves concealing her hands, her powers needed to struggled more to break out, and that's was the only reason she still worn those for the time being.

The Queen, meanwhile, saw the internal struggle her daughter was having inside her. She decided to silently pack up the books she had brought to teach her daughter and leave. Elsa only snapped out when she heard the door open.

Her eyes darted on the figure standing by it. Fortunately, she was unbeknown to Idun's guilt regarding the outburst when mother and daughter looked at each other.

"If you need anything, let me know ok?" her mother asked to Elsa, who simply nodded in return. She did so more because her mother would calm by being answered than because Elsa felt like answering. With that the Queen left the room and Elsa locked the door shortly after. It became a habit after Anna almost entered it when they tried reconnecting years ago.

After exhaling a long breath she cleaned her desk and sat in front of it. Once it was clear enough to be used Elsa tried to calm herself by drawing using the pencils Anna was so kind to give her on her birthday.

She wasn't able to focus though, even if her heart was no longer drumming impossibly fast. Her drawing attempts ended resulting worse than the first drawings she did, or in unfinished sketches to be stored and that would likely never be finished after she stored them in her drawer.

Later that day, when it was near midnight, Elsa squeezed away from her room, by using the hidden passages the castle had, to visit her favorite spot. It was a habit she developed to whenever she needs to vent after having a power outburst, and shortly after she learned of the existence of said paths. She enjoyed the company of the stone, cold walls and the moon's light gracing the room.

She enjoyed being away from the 4 walls she was so familiar with these past 7 years.

She began visiting the tower once she found out about it a couple of years earlier, when her relationship with Anna staggered again. It had been used as a spot tower should the fjord ever be invaded. But since Arendelle has been generations without being invaded, the guards no longer took position in it since decades ago.

She also visited the tower to cry a little and refresh her mind, especially since Anna had one time overheard her small sobs in her room. It had been heartbreaking to her sister's sad voice because of her, and even more because Elsa couldn't let her in. Not if it would mean risking Anna's safety. Elsa had been thankful that her mother talked to Anna the day after otherwise she wouldn't be able to cope with the idea that Anna would feel responsible for Elsa's sobs that night.She also visited the tower to cry a little and refresh her mind, especially since Anna had one time overheard her small sobs in her room. It had been heartbreaking to her sister's sad voice because of her, and even more because Elsa couldn't let her in. Not if it would mean risking Anna's safety. Elsa had been thankful that her mother talked to Anna the day after otherwise she wouldn't be able to cope with the idea that Anna would feel responsible for Elsa's sobs that night.

**xxxx**

**xxxx**

The Queen, as usual, went to her daughter's room to check if Elsa was there. Unbeknownst to Elsa, both her father and mother knew of her visits to that tower, even though it pained them every time she visited it. Once the Queen was sure that Elsa went to visit it, she retreated to her room, where her husband was sitting on the bed, reading a book while waiting for her.

She slowly changed into her nightgown, since the exhaustion was finally catching up with her. Once changed, she let out a sigh, before heading to the bed. Slowly slipping into the covers, she addressed Afdar, as she was not ready to sleep yet. "I went to check her room and she wasn't there. That means she went to the tower again." She pointed with a sad tone.

Agdar closed the book and laid it on his bed table. Turning to look at his wife, he shared the same sad feeling, but didn't speak anything. "We were actually going well today. She paid attention to the lessons, and I could even sense that she was happy. Until…" she paused, the smile she had when she began talking vanished with the pause and she tensing a bit, "We were revising the Royal lineage and she started dozing off." she told Agdar as her shoulders fell.

Agdar smiled apologetically to his wife. He knew she wasn't fond of memorizing the entire lineage, and that both his daughters acquired this trail from their mother. "I tried waking her up, but she didn't register it. So I gave a small nudge on her arm and them she awoke startled, dumping snow on the entire desk." Idun closed her eyes, although not because she was sleepy. She sighed, as she closed her eyes that had briefly been opened, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't know if it was because of my nudge, or if in a couple of seconds she was already having a nightmare. It pained me to see how scared she was when looked at me, and even more because I feel responsible for her outburst. She didn't approach me until I left the room. I adjourned our lesson after this… incident." His wife's teary eyes opened and looked at his, asking for guidance. She felt lost every time her daughter plainly shut them out and Agdar was the only one that could settle her worries down, at least for momentously, since he always seemed to be confident when talking about Elsa.

"What will we do? Elsa had made such progress a while ago, and then everything staggered back to square one. She completely shut herself from everyone, us included. I didn't think she would isolate herself like that… it feels even worse than the initial months of the isolation…" she said regretfully. To his credit, neither did he think Elsa would regress so much, so he was as lost as everyone else.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he tried to comfort her. "We can't do anything but be there for her. She'll come out when she feels safe about it, like she was doing before. It must hurt her deeply losing control over her powers like that, not to mention it must scare her a lot… we can only be there for her and be patient…" He said, and they ended the conversation in an uncomfortable silence. After a minute or two of silence, each reflecting silently about the events of that day, they bid each other goodnight and drifted to an uneasy sleep.

**xxxx**

**xxxx**

It had been exactly that night, after she had gone to the tower, in which Hiccup crashed. And it had been on the tower she was occupying that he landed on.

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_**ANII: I believe many of you were wondering at what age Elsa would be when she met Hiccup, and how she was faring with her isolation. Some of you probably thought this chapter you'd see them meeting, but that'll happen on the next chapter since I don't want an overgrown chapter standing out on my fic. Most of next chapter is already written, so its upload shouldn't take long.**_

_**As always, reviews and constructive criticisms are always welcome. And so are PM messages.**_

_**UNtil next time!**_


	11. Blue and Green meet

_**AN: Hello and welcome to the update I promised of How To Let It Go**_**. ****_Most of this chapter's credit goes for R2-M0, as there are several references of Echoes of Falling Snow. Besides this, I hope you all like this chapter. We're going to see how Elsa has been faring these past years._**

**_Also, there is a small reference to LadyBugTamer's work The Gradual Thaw in here. Those that have read it will surely spot it._**

**_So, review response:_**

**_bloodred739: As the first review response, let me tell you how happy i am that you liked. Indeed, Hiccup and Elsa's meeting are close, much closer than you may think. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well._**

**_Guest: I'm going to assume, given how you wrote your review, that you're Bigfan, who also reviewed chapters 2 and 5. Yes i have watched the series, and read the books (though I'm curious as to how you have noticed I've read the books. I only mentioned the series after all. Also thanks for reading that excessively large AN. Only very HTTYD fans read those i believe). Yes, I'm not a native speaker. A couple of authors told me I have a rather unique way of phrasing things, a way that is not seen among native english speakers in general. Besides that, your comment didn't seem rude at all. In fact, I quite liked that you noticed this. Also, answering to your latest review, no Windwalker won't be Elsa's dragon. The idea of him being able to speak with other humans, and having the unique abilities he has was excatly to give the idea that he is both the dragon and the rider. Hence why Hiccup doesn't often ride him. (PS: I suggest you create an account. That way I can PM you and vice versa)_**

_**Hospitaller1080: Well, you know my style. And, as promised, he's the next chapter. I hope you like it, and won't hunt my down after you read its ending.**_

_**Scorpion6955: Of course you like cliffhangers. Knowing you, I'd be surprised, at the very least, if you didn't. Elsa's parents died on a ship wreck during a storm when she was 18 years old. The sentences are rather large, as I said before, because most of them have been written months ago, when my writing was still raw. I'm trying to reduce it, but many of those sentences I don't feel I can break without breaking its meaning. And I hope you being liking it, because we'll see a lot of Elsa and Hiccup. Rest assured, his presence will bring a big twist to the little we know of these years Elsa has been isolated. **_

_**K-the-Queen-of-Typos: To be honest, this doesn't sound like a bad idea, not to me at least, though I think it would ruin the fun of eagerly waiting for an update or a sequel. Well, I'll certainly be looking forward to read your fics. I have been a bit low on new HTTYD fics to read. And eloquent way of phrasing things? You're the first to say such a thing. I'm curious to hear why do you think I write like this. If too big for a review, feel free to PM me why you think this. I hope you like this chapter as you liked the last one.**_

_**Noctus Fury: I'd be lying if I said I didn't wait just a tad bit longer just so you review chapter 10. Reading your reviews has been a curious thing to do, especially because of the ideas you throw and the things you say (it isn't everyone that admits their crush on Elsa or Astrid through a review after all). Also, be certain, this won't be the last time Hiccup saves someone (or tries to). Hiccup can or cannot yield all of these weapons. It'd depend of whether he'd settle down in Arendelle. This also partially answer your suggestion. I suggest you look again at who are the marked characters on this story. It might give you a hint. Regarding creating an account you can rest assuyred. It is completely free, (I myself created by connecting to Facebook. Writing my email and a password seemed too much to do so I just used my facebook's email and passwords. If you don't have one, you can just press sign up and write your own email and password.) I understand your fear though; if it was paid, I wouldn't be here too. I wish you good luck with your book, and a good health for your mother. I hope that, with the information I gave you, we'll be PMing soon enough.**_

_**6footsni9per: This is one of the pillars of my fic. I want things to go very slowly so it seems organic instead of rushed.**_

_**Without further ado:**_

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Elsa needed to vent out her frustration, and sorrow, and sadness that came with that outburst. She quietly walked through the hidden halls of the castle, halls that had been projected for the royalty to be able to escape in the events of an invasion. It was a smart idea; after all, being a port city meant that Arendelle was often invaded during its expansion.

But since Arendelle had not been in a war with another kingdom for generations these halls were long since forgotten. Few knew of them, and it quickly became nothing but a legend among the servants. Because of this, these halls were commonly filled with dust, and long forgotten torches that probably won't light up anymore.

Her father, though, most probably knows about its existence, considering that he knew where to find the Trolls, who were considered just a legend as well, to heal Anna…

A few tears escaped Elsa's eyes as her mind inadvertently drifted to the memories of that fateful day, despite her stubbornness at trying to hold them in her eyes. She quickened her pace to reach the tower sooner. She felt claustrophobic in these halls, as if she was trapped like an animal in a cage, or like a monster… 'It was a more fitting comparison.' She thought. She almost killer her sister with her powers, and only a monster would do so.

She sighed in relief when the familiar stairs caught her sight. Taking her moment Elsa climbed the stairs, one step at a time, as if she was climbing to her freedom. It sort of was, as she usually reasoned to herself, since in the tower she was alone and free, free from fear of hurting anyone, free from the sad eyes of her father and mother that tried so desperately to hide it to support their daughter.

It was useless for them to try, although Elsa didn't have the courage of saying it to them. She spent 7 years only seeing them, so it came to her almost naturally the ability to read her parent's expression, even though it was a perk she would likely learn due to her position as future Queen. Her father was trickier, since him, like her, learned to conceal his feelings during his childhood. His father had believed that a ruler should show no feelings, and had been particularly harsh at teaching this to Agdar.

She never met either her grandfather or grandmother though. From what her father told her, his father died at the sea when he was sailing with his wife, and her grandmother, unable to cope with the grief of losing her husband, isolated herself in a small island. The only news he had of his mother were letters scarcely sent from her and, recently, he barely heard of her. Elsa felt sorry for her father ever since he told her of his past. And she was very thankful that she had her father and her mother helping her through these rough times.

She came back to reality when she nearly tripped, as the row of stairs ended without her noticing it. Elsa closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, inhaling the soft breeze that came from the tower's window. Despite not being as large as the window on her room, it was big enough to allow a relaxing cold breeze pass through. And since the cold never bothered her, Elsa felt an aura of calmness every time the soft breeze passed through her face.

She sat and gently curled in the ground. It was not fitting for a Queen the position she was but Elsa couldn't care less. She hugged her legs and laid her forehead on her knees, while the only sound reaching her ears was the soft winter wind passing through the window. With her eyes closed, her mind began recalling how her life changed ever since the she and Anna was separated. It was not unusual for this to happen, but, luckily for her, neither it was common.

She and Anna had been very close, ever since her young sister was nothing but a very energetic toddler. Elsa fondly remembered how that little bundle cooed seeing her shoot snowflakes in the air. And, as they grew, Anna's love for Elsa's powers grew too. They became almost inseparable, and often Anna mischievously dragged Elsa to build a snowman, be it in winter or summer. Whenever the sky was awake Anna would want to build a snowman, and Elsa, loving every moment she spent with her sister, would happily comply.

But then, something went wrong. For the first time in forever her powers hit someone, namely her sister, and for the first time in forever Elsa no longer saw her powers as a blessing, like Anna used to say, but like a curse. A curse that could harm those she loved, and so it did.

Her father closed the gates that day so Elsa could learn how to control it, and she, afraid of hurting those near her, closed herself like those gates. The troll spoke of how fear would be her greatest enemy, and she didn't want to ever see again the fear she saw in her mother's eyes when she grabbed an ice cold, unconscious Anna.

It didn't take long for a somber mood to fall upon the castle of Arendelle, as it was obvious that the once happy and close family was torn apart. No one except for her parents knew the reasons to why she closed off, and for many days she had to endure having Anna knocking at her door, begging to let her in or to play. And, painfully, Elsa had to shut her sister out, because her powers hurt her once and could hurt her again.

There had been a few times where Elsa didn't manage to conceal her emotions when shutting out Anna. It had been whenever her sister thought that her big sister hated her, or when Anna thought she was the responsible for Elsa closing off. Fortunately this didn't last, as Anna soon began staying at her door rambling about anything instead of begging to let her in.

In a way it helped Elsa, since the door kept Anna from being harmed, but at the same time allowed her to have somewhat the company of her sister, something her heart began yearning for the day she isolated herself, even though her mind knew that it was exclusively for Anna's protection and well-being her isolation.

And then, when Elsa was around 10, she heard that Anna made a new friend. Apparently a veteran harbormaster caught her father's eyes, and soon the King hired him to work on Arendelle. He had a daughter, Marie, who visited the castle whenever the harbormaster came. Anna, being the cheerful and friendly child that somehow managed to befriend everyone she met, quickly became friends with Marie.

Even Elsa, who continued closed in her room, could see how brighter Anna became with her new companion. Her father soon made Marie the exception to the close gates policy he had installed 2 years prior. And then, at the same time that Anna changed with Marie's presence, Elsa also did. Believing that she was making progress at her father's teaching of '_conceal, don't feel'_ Elsa dared to leave her room when the castle was almost completely empty. The gloves had given her enough confidence for her to do it.

And it went surprisingly well, for the first few times. She found her mother, unexpectedly quickly, in the kitchen talking to Gerda. To say that both were shocked might have been an understatement. After some minutes of silence, and tears shed by all the parties, she and her mother had gone to a parlor to talk.

Granted that the conversation had been far from short of awkward moments of silence, or tears shed, but it had been more than enough for Elsa to fully realize how much both her mother's love and her gloves meant.

And she remembered when Anna had caught her in one of her forays outside her room. And her young sister had been upset, angry and feeling a bit betrayed. Elsa had understood perfectly Anna's emotions, but it did not mean that what her sister had spoken hurt any less. She had felt a fire being extinguished inside her that moment, and had cried herself to sleep at night.

The next day had also been… different. Her mother had come to visit her, and found an Anna-doll in front of her room. Elsa had felt that moment like she had returned back from the dead when she grabbed the little doll. It meant that Anna didn't give up on her despite their…fight. For reasons that Elsa still doesn't know, she had broken out of her comfort zone and laid her head on her mother's shoulders, enjoying her silent company during the rest of the day.

And the silence followed Elsa for the following weeks, until Marie came to her door and told her how Anna had been oddly quiet, as if her younger sister carried a burden on her shoulders, since their eventful meeting. And it had been in that same day that Elsa realized that, too busy worrying about their elder daughter, her parents had almost forgotten to worry about Anna's feelings as well. And Elsa made sure to fix that.

In a way, Marie helped the whole family to reconnect again. Her mother and her father began paying more attention to Anna after Elsa spoke to Idun, and Anna came back from her own isolation and was soon talking through the door again. And it had been around that time that Elsa won one of her most prized gifts: a spyglass. The little object helped her feel closer to Anna whenever she spotted the young princess in the castle's garden.

Things improved since then… except, maybe, on the day of her birthday. Now older, Elsa could understand why her father overreacted when he found not just Idun but also Anna inside her room. Of course a small part of her still resents him for ruining such promising day; after all she had, for the first time in a long time, felt normal, as if the isolation was nothing but a nightmare. But, she was never capable of blaming his fear for getting the better of him. Still, she was thankful that her father had begun using more of his time to be with Anna, even if it was sparring.

With her, however, it was a bit more difficult. Elsa had always seen her father as a rather intimidating figure. His position as King helped, but there was also the fact that, as the elder daughter, she would inherit the kingdom one day. Hence why she always felt like being pressured at doing her best on about everything, including on controlling her powers. And it took him a long time to debunk that image she built of him.

Fortunately, her father, as wise as ever, managed to do so, and they became close as the years passed; or as close as possible, especially since her first outburst.

There was one day that, despite having passed 5 years, Elsa would never forget. It had been the day where she finally saw (or heard more like it) the fruits of suggesting a violin as a present to Marie. Anna had been very kind, as she always is, to drag Marie to Elsa's door so both sisters could listen to Marie's first performance as a musician. To say that it had been a beautiful song was a deep understatement.

Up to this day, where Elsa was alone curled in a cold tower, she has never heard anything as beautiful as the piece Marie had played. And always remembered fondly of the beautiful, soothing Sonata played by the French girl.

Then… this new found equilibrium, this hope all but collapsed. Marie had an accident at the harbor, rendering both of her legs severely damaged. The solution had been for Marie's parents bring her back to France so she could be treated by a professional surgeon.

Anna had been completely heartbroken at losing another best friend. She had been so much that she ended up shutting herself from everyone, in a very un-Anna way. Elsa, seeing how Anna was, reached out to her. Now that she looked at that time, even leaving Marie managed to bring her and Anna together, in a way.

It had been because of this reconnection that Elsa decided to practice again her powers. After all, she had been using them with Anna for years and it only harmed her once. If she could control them, instead of trying to conceal them, she would be able to reconnect with her sisters, and the family would be whole again.

It had been a naïve thought Elsa admitted these days, considering she had just accelerated how her powers would grow stronger by using them.

Elsa's eleventh birthday had been particularly joyful. She indeed managed to surprise her whole family by suddenly appearing at the dining room. She had achieved her goal of having a 'normal' day with her family. Their gifts had been beautiful, Anna had given her a new set of pencils, and she's been doing so every since. Her mother gave her a box of chocolate, because Elsa loved the dessert just like her mother and sister. And lastly both her mother and her father gave them a music box…

The box itself was beautiful. Her parents had custom ordered it months before her birthday, and took every detail into account. The symbol of Arendelle engraved on the tiny golden bloom was proof of that. But what was the most beautiful aspect of it was the melody. Despite the technical issues, they had managed to put inside the music box Marie's song after tracking down the piece the young girl had played to the sisters of Arendelle.

And unfortunately it had been the same day when she learned that her powers were getting stronger. Tiny icicles had appeared on her glass of water, and it had been no mystery that she created them, even though she had been wearing her gloves. Since them, things only got worse as her powers kept growing stronger. Elsa only noticed much later that, while she had seen her powers growing stronger, she had regressed to her old self, closed and reclusive from everyone, and consequently had stopped talking to Anna.

Then one day she finally lost control of her powers, therefore having her first outburst. The event by itself was already terrifying. But to her, what had been even more terrifying was the fact that both her father and her mother had been near her when her powers got the upper hand. She had been so afraid of hurting them that she refused to make physical contact ever since.

Then… things got stale ever since. She didn't improve these past 3 years, nor tried to leave her room as she had done before. Her father took some of the teachings her mother previously did as a way to getting closer to Elsa, though he could only do so much. Anna kept stopping at her door, either to ramble or, when she turned 10, to read her a story. She enjoyed greatly hearing her sister's voice, and it helped her cope with the new-found strength of her powers.

One day though, after she had had an outburst, Anna had heard her crying in the middle of the night, and it had deeply pained Elsa to hear Anna so miserable because she couldn't comfort her big sister. It had been the day after it that she discovered the hidden passageways, and it wasn't a week after this that she stumbled at the familiar tower. And for 2 and half years, Elsa came here whenever she had an outburst, so no one would be in pain to see her sorrow or hear her sobs.

Remembering begrudgingly each of those events had caused her to cry even more. She didn't even notice the frost creeping on the wall around her back, or on the floor around her feet. She had only focused in curling as tight as possible to escape those memories, to conceal her emotions.

By doing so she ended up almost asleep from crying and cursing her powers, when she heard a crashing noise. Opening her eyes startled, she could see the faint light of the moon illuminating a boy, apparently not older than her, on the ground.

Ignoring that the wall where she had been leaning frosted a little when she was startled by the noise, she closed on the boy, although she didn't dare to touch him. She gasped when her bondi blue eyes meet unfocused forest green ones half-opened.

She faintly heard him ask her if she was a Valkyrie, using a very odd accent that somewhat sounded like the Old Norse the priests used, before passing out. Had she not seen his chest rising and falling surprisingly smoothly she would have panicked, fearing the boy had died.

She noticed the odd gear he had on him, and, recalling the lessons she had on History and, briefly, the Royal Lineage, presumed he must be a Viking. That would explain how she could understand him, and why he seemed to speak Old Norse fluently. Still, many questions flashed on her mind, especially regarding how he crashed into the tower.

She noticed a faint gash bleeding on his forehead and without thinking she immediately went back to her room to grab some cloth and water. Even though she met him only a few seconds ago, the boy had enough mystery that got her curiosity to overshadow her fear of being near people. And she couldn't leave him bleeding; a gash in the head was not something to be taken lightly.

However, she failed to notice a creature as dark as Night itself stir slightly before also passing out. Toothless was far less injured than his rider, but suffered more from the impact with the tower. Windwalker landed on the forest and stood at the edge of it looking out at the tower.

He couldn't land on top of it since his white scales would give him away, even if the moon light was faint. There was also the possibility that the noise generated from the crash could have awaken someone and he would need to be ready to help them should they be discovered, and being near the crash would take away the element of surprise, the only advantage he had so far.

**xxxx**

**xxxx **

It was only when Elsa came back with some cloth and a bowl of water that her actions fully registered inside her mind. She suddenly became afraid of touching him while treating the gash and accidentally freezing him, but also knew he needed that gash treated before it bled too much. She didn't know if she should ask her father's help since the boy looked harmless, or how her father would react seeing a stranger suddenly crashing at their tallest tower.

Somehow the water on the bowl didn't freeze when she momentously panicked.

She kneeled in front of him and lightly dripped the cloth in the water. She was extra careful to not get her gloves wet, more because she was afraid of icing the water than because it would take awhile for them to dry, as it was winter. She winced and had to resist the urge of backing away every time he stirred, though not because it might have stung healing the gash, but rather of fear that he would wake up with her still too close to him.

Once it stopped bleeding, she retreated to the corner where she was sitting before everything happened. Her eyes never pried away from the boy, for too many reasons to be listed that moment. Oddly, she didn't feel like sleeping that night, not anymore at least. The emotions she had flowing through her were more than enough to overcome the exhaustion of the events of that day that had settled on her before the crash.

Since during winter the sunlight was mostly of about 6 hours, she didn't worry having anyone checking on her soon. This time of the year things slowed down, and people slept through most of the night, not having the daylight to perform their jobs.

Arendelle didn't have, at least yet, what the British called light bulbs and electricity to work at night. She knew that her father planned on bringing this one day to their kingdom, but with the castle closed, it seemed that this would not happen so soon. Therefore, they still used oil lamps and candles.

The castle used gas-fueled torches hanging in the walls. It was a system similar to the one used in the streets, but more carefully built, as most of the castle's interior was made of wood.

She, on the other hand, burned a lot of candles since sleeping that long was an invitation to her nightmares invade her minds. Therefore it was the reason of why she didn't sleep as much as her family and the rest of the kingdom do.

It was around midnight, she guessed, so she deduced she still had more or less 8 hours before needing to leave the boy or else her parents would notice she was not in her room.

Fortunately for her, it only passed roughly 4 hours before he began stirring, a sign that he was awaking up. She tensed, suddenly aware that she had not planned what to do once the strange boy was awakened. Afraid, she kept still on her place, almost like a statue, while carefully watching the boy.

**xxxx**

**xxxx**

Hiccup groaned a lot when he awoke. His head was aching like Thor had used it as an anvil for a decade, at the very least. Well, he considered himself lucky that he had braced himself before hitting the wall, otherwise it could have been worse. He was sure that, had he hit his head straight into the wall, he would have gone from Midgard straight to Valhalla.

Fortunately, his arms didn't feel like they were broken, just completely sore and bruised from taking the impact. And he didn't feel like his head had been severely damaged, so he had no big worries for the moment.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking at the dark ceiling. "Wha… what happened?" he asked to no one. He tried sitting, but his arms didn't manage to hold him up. He felt back to the ground, hissing a bit in pain as his head made contact with the stony floor. His vision blurred slightly, a signal that his head still suffered from impact and that he should rest.

He decided to wait until his breathing evened and he regained some of his strength. After a minute, he tried sitting again, this time successfully, albeit clumsily.

**xxxx**

Elsa would have helped him when he felt to the ground had she not been petrified. She didn't expect that he would wake up that night, not after seeing the wound in his head before she cleaned it. She was also having a hard time arguing if he was a Viking, as she observed his clothes and noticed some similarities to the Viking clothes she had seen in the books.

But what had been the biggest surprise to her was that the boy was speaking the same language the priests spoke, and she as heir had to learn, although he had an accent unfamiliar to her and a very odd one. She was sure Anna would have laughed at hearing his accent.

He had nothing of the big burly, bearded and armored appearance Vikings were known for, hence why her doubts if he was a Viking. While their kingdom started from a Viking village, Vikings were considered a thing of the past now-a-days. There were some rumors that some Viking settlements still existed in the uncharted waters up north, but no one dared venturing into it. The Snow Belt, as it was known, made it almost impossible travelling to it. And since no one found any reason to venture inside, no one found necessary to risk facing the barbarians Vikings and the treacherous snow.

**xxxx**

Hiccup slowly scanned his surroundings but failed the first few times because of his dizziness. He shut and opened his eyes a couple of times trying to get rid of his dizziness so he could properly look around. After it was mostly gone he scanned his surroundings until his eyes caught sight of a small figure sitting on the opposite side of the tower. The moon illuminated her pale face, as her ocean blue eyes stood out along with her seemly white hair. Both stopped breathing when each other staring.

He was mouth agape. He always thought Astrid was beautiful, almost as if the girl was a Valkyrie descended from Asgard. He even had imagined how a Valkyrie looked like when reading the old tales because of Astrid. But they were nothing compared to the girl standing in the corner of this tower. She looked like a Goddess herself, her beauty of deiform origin. Hiccup figured that if there was such thing as perfection, her beauty was proof of it. He was mesmerized by her eyes, and small figure, even though he could barely see because the moonlight was faint.

Realizing after a couple of seconds that he had been staring like a fool, he quickly turned his head, feeling his cheeks burn while his face was as red as a Nightmare. Of course he didn't expect that the first person he would meet once leaving the Archipelago would be this beautiful, or a girl in fact. It didn't help him much, as he didn't have much experience in talking to girls…

**xxxx**

Elsa's cheek blushed when she saw the boy was staring at her with a complete awed expression. Anna and her mother always told her that she was pretty, but it was sort of discomforting seeing someone stare at you so mesmerized, almost like trapped in a trance. She also averted her gaze when he noticed she was also staring at him. She was surprised to find beautiful, innocent green eyes staring at her rather than lustful ones as she expected from a Viking.

Apparently the boy caught up that he had been staring, as he quickly turned his head. She could see through the faint light that his cheeks were red as a tomato, and smiled a bit at the scene, figuring that the boy was shy a little, or at least self-conscious of his staring. It slightly reminded her of Anna, since her sister would likely have done the same he did in this situation. She could have been almost certain he wasn't a Viking, had he not been wearing Viking clothes.

Still not meeting her eyes, he tried to speak, but it was like his tong was knotted. It took him a minute until he spoke, embarrassedly. "H-h-hi" he stammered, heavily. He resisted the urge to smack his face, as he just made himself look like a fool in front of a stranger. He couldn't help himself though, every time he spoke with Astrid he had stuttered, that is excluding every talk after their discussion little discussion.

In a way he was glad to be gone. He didn't think he'd be able to face Astrid after saying she would be the only girl he would ever marry. Then again, if he would marry Astrid, it was surely no longer because she was the most beautiful lady he has ever seen. Elsa now has that title, even if he doesn't know her name, not yet at least.

His stammering did nothing to make her smile vanish. She found it a bit funny, although she didn't know if he did that because he was shy, embarrassed or if he spoke like that all the times. Once again she remembered of Anna, and how the princess stuttered when she found herself in an awkward situation. It felt… oddly comforting to see these similarities, yet also slightly unsettling. She didn't even know him and he already managed to stir feelings inside her.

Feelings that were supposed to be concealed, as they were feelings.

Once she realized she didn't reply, she shyly said "Hello." to him. Since she wasn't used speaking to people, especially after her isolation came back to square one, and he never spoke to a girl before, silence was what occupied the space most of the time. He eyed her a bit oddly, for reasons that she couldn't fathom, but didn't say anything.

His arms began to shake a little and he took it as a cue to lie down again. Elsa didn't say anything as she noticed that. She figured the boy should still be weak for crashing the wall. She still wondered how he survived the crash and how he appeared flying from the window in the first place.

He seemed to be okay, and if his stuttering was a trail of his personality, then it meant he had no serious head injuries. She had heard from her father, and read how head injuries could easily happen and quickly kill a fully grown soldier. To see this, apparently, weak boy survive such blow was a wonder to behold.

**xxxx**

Hiccup, meanwhile, was a bit dizzy again. He felt in some sort of trance hearing her voice, and combined with his dizziness, it did little to keep his thoughts only inside his head. "What a beautiful voice." he commented to himself once he was lying on the ground. He did not notice speaking it though, probably because his head still felt like a mess, even though the dizziness had mostly passed.

_Mostly_. Just like he was _mostly_ sure that he had not said that out loud.

And Elsa, understandibly, blushed heavily by hearing this. 'What have I gotten myself into?' She asked herself, feeling numerous feelings regarding the boy. oddity that he was a Viking, wonder as to how he flied through the window, embarrassment because he made her blush _twice_ (even though he blushed too), afraid because she didn't know him and her feelings could potentialy cause a power outburst.

And she was feeling annoyance, because she couldn't understand why she was so self-conscious.

She blamed her lack of control and social skills on her isolation.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_**The chapter every single one of you was probably awaiting. Do review, I'd love to hear every one of your thoughts as to how this chapter progressed. Most of it is a resume of Echoes of Falling Snow by R2-M0, the dude behind the birth of this fanfiction (and 90% of the courage I had to have to begin writing it). The substancial information that will be used later has been written here, but if you want more details I'd definitely read Echoes.**_

_**Until next time! And if you were to choose a chapter of this entire story to review, choose this one!**_

_**Post-update AN: got rid of the doubled paragraph (I came to the conclusion that fanfiction cursed me the moment I began publishing this story. None of the other works I have ever had doubled paragraphs), and fixed an ambigous paragraph. Thank you fanfictionmakermachine for pointing out the ambiguity.**_


	12. Who is he? Who is she?

_**AN: Hello my fellow readers. I must being this AN by apologizing to all of you for this horrible delay. My depression has been poundering me and it has been very hard to do anything other than stare at the ceiling- including writing this story. I can't promise this won't happen anymore because I don't want to make a promise I can't keep. But I can promise that I'll do my best to update this story at least once every two weeks. Also I wanted to thank all of you that has been showing me support since my depression started to hinder my writing abilities and schedules.**_

_**Anyway, review responses:**_

_**Scorpion6955: Well, considering that the avegare chapter of How To Let It Go is around 5000 words, I think you'll get used to its length. About their reaction, it was something quite hard to imagine actaully. If I took it to the extreme there would be no dialogue whatsover, but I also didn't want it to seem to unrealistic. i'm happy to see that you apparently approved their reaction. And as a Hicstrid fan don't worry. There won't be any Hiccelsa romance... not yet ;)**_

_**Guest: Please... a nickname, it makes a lot easier to address you. About your review, I'm very happy to see that I achieved, at least with some of you, what I wanted; doubt about whoever Hiccup will end up with. Feel free to let on this chapter's review who do you think he'll end up with and, if possible, why, I'd like to know that.**_

_**SpicedGold: Ah, firstly, let me say how an honor is to see a review from you in my story. I can't even being to express how much of a honor is to see such seasoned and great writer like you reading and reviewing my work. Now, about your review... A lot of things that you spoke in it are ideas that came from Echoes of Falling SNow- after all, it is a canon of this story- such as Elsa using her powers and trying to leave her room. But the idea of her reading her parents' faces are mine. It felt logical that she would learn this ability after spending years only seeing both of them. Despite fearful of the outside, I believe she has an inner curiosity to know what's happening around the castle, and with her family's lives. Also, I'm very happy to see that you liked their first encounter, it certainly wasn't easy to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter as you have enjoyed the last one.**_

_**Vahn N. Chrome: ah, a new review. I hope you become a regular one just like the others. And you need not to look forward for it anymore, as here it is.**_

_**Hospitaller1080: It seems that I achieved what I needed this scene to be- ultimamte awkwardness. And what would be the error? I'd be very thankful if you pinpoint it to me. **_

_**Noctus Fury: Ah, I was waiting to see your reply again. I do think that replying to reviews is as important as writing the stories, and replying them before the beginning of the chapter is the best method to do this that I've found so far. Regarding the weapons, while it is a good idea, I believe that he'll end up using only one of two of them-this isn't exactly an epic story full of battles, but more of a attempt of realistically portraying a friendship between Hiccup and Elsa. Also, I look forward to both see your book and to see you in this website- it would certainly be a welcome addition. Hiccup will definitely help her, but there are some fears that must be conquered alone... I hope you enojy this chapter.**_

_**Phantress222014: Here it is the new chapter, you need not to wait for it anymore.**_

_****Special apologizes for fanfictionmakermachine, as this chapter was meant to be a birthday gift for him. I hope you still accept it despite the delay. I greatly hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

_**Without further ado:**_

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Elsa recalled how Anna used to say she has a beautiful voice, and also how her mother also used to say when they recited poetry together. But hearing from someone other than her family made her feel a bit warm inside, and self-conscious of it. The whole situation was odd, and she felt as shy as she had been whenever her mother caught her and Anna being mischievous, or by Gerda. Gods know how frightening she can be when mad.

She was feeling frustrated too; there were too many emotions slithering through her, and she couldn't control all of them. And lack of control means that her powers can come out.

Nothing good ever can come when that happens.

Thankfully, both their trail of thoughts were broken when they heard some grunts, more specifically draconic moans, though Elsa didn't know that. Elsa froze on her place, completely terrified, and also, unintentionally, drooping drastically the temperature. She noticed a shadow stirring near the window and, because she didn't recognize the sound, it left her even more terrified. She was completely caught off bv suddenly hearing an inhuman noise, and would have run away from the tower if she wasn't frozen on spot.

Hiccup didn't notice the sudden cold, probably either because he was still dizzy or because he was used to freezing to death climates. Berk snowed 9 months of the year, and hailed the other 3, so cold was something that didn't bother the Viking. He snapped out of his trance once he heard Toothless moan in pain, not even noticing Elsa seemingly completely terrified, her eyes looking at everywhere as she tried to pinpoint the source of such noise.

He slowly sat; forgetting again that a terrified princess was a few foot away from him freezing the tower inch by inch. "Toothless?" he asked worried. The dragon moaned in response, and he tried to get up to approach him. As soon as he was on his feet, though, he felt to his knees, with his legs shaking from the lack of strength. His body had not fully recovered from the crash, even though his legs had not directly hit the tower during the crash.

Elsa watched as the boy almost crawled to where she possibly heard the noise. She held her breath once she noticed a pair of toxic green eyes opening in the darkness of the tower. They resembled a cat's eye, but she knew that it did not belong to one, as they were too big to be from a cat. She also noticed that a faint reflection she had not previously seen was now apparent. It was like the creature had a smooth skin, akin to a polished metal, but colored in pure jet black.

The eyes, seemly floating in the dark, looked at the boy. Hiccup slowly approached him, but she noticed it was more because he was weak than out of fear. "Hey bud. Are you okay?" he asked the floating eyes.

She heard a noise which sounded closely to a croon. She was mesmerized when he responded to the sound, as if he understood it. "I'm fine bud… I'm just feeling exhausted. No broken bones I think, though my arms are completely sore. I think I didn't suffer any severe head injuries, since I'm speaking to you," he supposedly answered, a small hint of sarcasm in his voice, although Elsa missed it.

She resisted the urge to facepalm. He was like 5 minutes awake and it didn't even pass through her mind to ask him how he was. And yet, the mysterious creature apparently did as soon as it awoke. Considering how the boy spoke to the creature, she hunched that it was probably how he ended up in the tower. She was slightly awed that the creature seemed to care more about the boy's injuries rather than its own, assuming it was also injured when they crashed.

Hiccup patted his dragon's head. Apparently Toothless was just as sore as he was from the crash. Although dragons do had a stronger skeleton to prevent them from dying in case they fall from the skies they could still be severely injured from crashing. Hiccup had seen this happen more than once when a dragon was trapped in mid-air by a bola back in Berk.

He was glad that Toothless suffered no serious injuries and, especially, that his wings were still intact. The dragon only seemed to be bruised on the shoulders, probably because it is where he collided with the stone wall.

The boy held the creature's head as it slowly moved. Elsa gasped once it came out to the moonlight. The creature was as black as night, it had wings and the smooth polished skin was apparently scales. She has never seen something like this, only read about it… in fairy tales. "I-is that a dragon?" she asked fearfully. Her logical side completely denied such possibility, since dragons didn't exist, but her eyes couldn't deny what she was seeing at this moment. It was too similar to a dragon to not be one.

007

Only when he heard that question that reality crashed on him, making him freeze on spot. He didn't plan on anyone finding out about Toothless. He instantly began fearing what she would do, since she was looking at a supposedly mythical creature, or so to speak. He didn't know how people would react to dragons outside the Archipelago, so he didn't know what to expect.

At least, in there, he had the advantage of dealing with Vikings, which meant he knew how they would react, even if it meant that he would be risking his life.

The girl's accent was odd, and although he understood the answer, he struggled slightly to understand her dialect. He recalled how the tribes had different dialects, some of them even wrote certain words differently from Berk. He presumed that this would be the case with the mysterious girl sitting in the corner, and hoped it wouldn't be enough to hinder their communication. It was bad enough that she already knew of Toothless, and by the tone of her question, he was sure that dragons were not a common creature throughout these lands, just as Windwalker foresaw.

He slowly turned to look at her. Both stared at each other's eyes, both of them very fearful, although because of different reasons. For how long they stood like that neither knew, until he dared to break the silence. "…yes?" he answered/asked with uncertainty. His biggest fear was that she would call someone, if their crash had not alert anyone else already. He hoped she could understand him well enough to at least he be able to explain his situation.

It did not settle her fears to hear the answer, 'or was that a question?' she thought for a moment. She read about the creatures, or heard when Anna read her some stories, even though everyone thought they were only mythical. Yet she was standing in front of one, and it did not burn her or maul her yet like the stories said they usually did.

The same goes for the boy, as he was seemingly a Viking but had yet to try to kill her or take her as a prize while bearing lustful eyes. Still apparently he knows the dragon, if the way he addressed it was any clue, so the boy was a potential risk, even if he himself didn't look like one.

He took the silence and steadiness as a cue that she wouldn't report them or hunt them down. 'Or maybe she was too terrified to do that,' his mind reminded him. His stance relaxed a bit, his body finally showing some movement after standing statue-like for Thor knows how long. His mind, however, quickly drifted to another issue. They might not be rattled to any authority inside the castle, but he was still trespassing what probably was her home.

"I guess I have something to explain, don't I?" he asked nervously, not daring to meet her eyes. If neither of them were too sore, he would have just hopped on Toothless and ran away. He did so before, he could do again. The thought that she was speaking the same language he spoke, although with a weird accent, barely registered in his mind, but considering the Archipelago had more dialects than different languages, it was not surprising to him that she spoke his language.

Elsa didn't know what to do. It seemed a trail she was having these days, and this situation wasn't apparently going to change this streak. The creature, now that she could see, has a saddle. She found curious, if not terrifying, the idea that a man tamed a mythical creature that wasn't even supposed to exist in the first place. If this dragon was as powerful as the ones in the fairy tales, she couldn't even imagine the power this boy held, probably surpassing even her own when talking about destructive capability.

Yet… he didn't order it to kill her, or kidnap her or anything. If so, he looked as afraid as she was when they gazed at each other's eyes. Also, he was probably of her age, so he couldn't be very dangerous, or so she thought. She felt oddly comforted by looking at his green eyes, finding emotions so similar to her that for a moment she thought she was looking at herself. It almost felt like looking in a mirror, and given how many unknown things this boy's appearance brought, it was a comforting idea.

It gave her a sense of control, even if it was through feelings. She didn't like relying on feelings to maintain control, but right at this moment, it felt right to do so. The tower slowly heated, though the boy apparently didn't notice it. She found odd how he wasn't simply noticing the temperature changes.

Then again… he had a fire breathing flying reptile as a pet, so while he didn't look dangerous, he, in fact, was. Still, their entrance didn't look like planned, as it, in fact, looked like as if it had been accidental, a crash. He wanted to explain to her. What, she did not know.

She mused, thinking that she was in a similar situation. While she also looked harmless, her powers could kill him on spot, like it nearly accidentally did with Anna years ago. The only difference was that the boy didn't know that she was also dangerous, and it wasn't as obvious as an onyx giant, fire-breathing, winged reptile.

Maybe he had no ill intentions. There was no way he could know she was there. Not even her parents knew she came to here-Elsa was unaware that her mother knew of this. Or, maybe he had been observing her. His cloths were mostly dark, as if to blend in with the dragon, and they were very simplistic, as if designed only to be practical instead of fancy. They both could be watching her through the nights and there was no way her, or anyone, could know. She hadn't even seen the dragon until it made his presence known.

Elsa gripped her head and closed her eyes. The flooding of thoughts inside it was beginning to drive her crazy. She took a couple of long breaths and exhaled each slowly. Finally prying her eyes, she saw that the boy did not move. 'He seems a bit nervous,' she hunched, because he was lightly shaking-although he may be shaking because he was still weak from the crash. She was also nervous, but years training to be Queen and dealing with her powers made her almost master the art of concealing her emotions.

At least until her powers get the best of her.

Sighing, she decided to go along with this madness. 'My life seems to be full of it so why not add another one?' she reasoned with herself. She tried to muster as much queenly attitude as she could, maybe to prevent the boy from lying. "Well, do proceed." She spoke softly yet also with an authoritative tone, to prevent the boy from hiding anything. She decided to use the Old Norse she knew from her religious teachings, since it wasn't like this boy would know Norwegian.

If she had a paper she would already be writing a list containing the oddities and curiosities this boy possesses.

He smiled a little, although nervously. She noticed his posture relaxed a bit after she spoke, but still kept somewhat tensed. For a moment he did not speak, and she wondered if he was going to explain at all. She noticed his gaze was a bit distant, so maybe he was trying to make up a lie to her, or didn't know how to begin. Both seemed reasonable and possible, considering he had a dragon as a pet. The fact that he didn't seem to expect finding her didn't help her in weighting which option he would take.

If she had a paper she would already be writing a list containing the oddities and curiosities this boy possesses.

007

He smiled a little, although nervously. She noticed his posture relaxed a bit after she spoke, but still kept somewhat tensed. For a moment he did not speak, and she wondered if he was going to explain at all. She noticed his gaze was a bit distant, so maybe he was trying to make up a lie to her, or didn't know how to begin. Both seemed reasonable and possible, considering he had a dragon as a pet. The fact that he didn't seem to expect finding her didn't help her in weighting which option he would take.

Hiccup's mind ran a million different scenarios where he would try to explain, most being him resuming his life's story. He didn't know if Vikings were welcome here, or if he should tell her everything. He noticed she had some fine clothing he had never seen. Then again, nothing in this village he has ever seeing. Only the blacksmith, that he could recognize anywhere, and even that looked very different from the blacksmiths back at the Archipelago.

"So… Um…" He tapped his chin. His shifted his foot nervously. "We aren't from here," he spoke, feeling at a loss on how to begin explaining his situation. He smacked himself mentally the moment he realized how stupid what he said was. 'Of course you aren't. No one around here has ever seen a dragon, much less befriended one' he sarcastically thought. Even Toothless looked at him with a 'are you serious?' expression.

She found… odd his statement, certainly not being the first thing she expected to hear. It was obvious he wasn't from here, but he said that nevertheless. 'Does he like to state the obvious? Or is he only buying time?' she mentally pondered. She noticed his nervous shifting, so the idea that he was a little lost at how to explain didn't seem farfetched.

But then again, the whole situation felt as surreal as possible to her. She briefly recalled when she thought he looked as if he was shy, and a part of her sympathized with him this instant. That part of her thought that he said this because he was nervous, even though another part of her didn't believe in this idea, not yet at least.

She decided to give him a little help. At least that would show if he was nervous or buying time. Still, she wanted to speak as little as possible, as she didn't trust her voice to be even for so long. Elsa was having a hard time concealing her powers and emotions given the situation. She noticed the room was shifting between freezing and ice melting but, curiously, he didn't seem to notice, or if he did, then he wasn't showing it.

Still, he did seem clothed for the cold. Perhaps where he came from was cold or colder than Arendelle in the winter, so he was used to it to the point that he didn't notice small changes such as her ice forming and melting. His clothes were odd, but the boots had a striking resemblance with the Viking boots… "If not from here, then from where?" she asked in a barely audible voice. Her tone was not accusing or aggressive, but more curious. It seemed the best approach to get him to talk.

He was almost lost in a trance again when he heard that voice, but he reprimanded himself, as he couldn't lose himself. He had planned on staying near this town, and this situation could jeopardize his plans. Not to mention he would need to change the rope on the tailfin to fly again. While it wouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes, he didn't think he'd have that much of a time if she reported him.

He could call Windwalker for back-up if things got ugly, but then they wouldn't need to find another town to live, and since their maps held almost no information from outside the Archipelago, it could take days to find another one.

He mentally wondered why he had to be in such a situation with someone that has such a beautiful voice. It would have been so much easier if he was facing someone like Fishlegs or Snotlout, or any sort of person that did not belong to the female gender.

"Well…" he said while gazed at the ground, rubbing his neck. He didn't know how to talk to a girl, and it didn't help him that he found her as beautiful as a Goddess. Neither of those facts stirred confidence inside him to speak looking at her, hence why he was looking at the ground. He decided to go with the truth, since he could try earning her trust. "I'm from the north, f-far north. The Barbaric Archipelago…" he answered, stammering slightly.

"Far north?" she asked, hoping that he would clarify a little bit. The boy seemed to be knowledgeable of some geography, so maybe he could specify what meant 'far north'. Arendelle was already up north, geographically speaking, and the only thing north from the kingdom was the uncharted waters. The young Viking-but-not-Viking tapped his chin with his hand, thinking. She noticed he did that a lot: tapping his chin and thinking. Her face flushed slightly as she became self-conscious that she knew this for staring too much at him.

"Yeah…" he added slowly, unbeknownst of Elsa's blushing, and sounding mixed between certainty and uncertainty. He pondered if the girl knew what he was talking about. Maybe… "Y-you know the Snow Belt?" he hoped it had the same name here as it had in his maps.

She nodded, and he took her silence as a clue to continue explaining. "Well… I used to live past it. Our ancestors sailed there generations ago…" he trailed off, suddenly forgetting what he was going to say. He hoped that maybe this would make her satisfied with his origins. He didn't know how many generations ago the Vikings had sailed through it, so he couldn't offer her an estimate year as a reference.

He was wrong. Very, very wrong.

"So… you're a Viking?" she asked, a mix of curiosity and fear in her voice. He paled, panicking a little at how she knew it. Most of his clothes were of his own design, and little to nothing that he designed looked like something Viking, hence why no one liked his inventions. Still, he was apparently wearing more than enough to show his Viking trails, probably the boots, so there was no way he could deny her question.

"Yeah…" he answered slowly, also afraid. He unconsciously took a step backwards, getting closer to Toothless. Maybe Vikings were hunted here like dragons were back there. Or maybe he had broken some peace agreement about trespassing. For all the scenarios that ran through his mind, the one about to come was not between those.

"Curious…" the girl pondered, as if she was amused a little. He looked at her in utter bewilderment, no longer wary of her reaction. "What?" he asked, before he could stop himself from doing so. Elsa found funny his confused, puppy face, and felt a bit sad that she couldn't imprint it somehow. It would be funny to have his bewildered face hanging around, something to make her laugh when she felt lonely.

"You don't look like one" she pointed out; not that everyone he had met before had already done this too. "We were also Vikings, long ago…" she added, gesturing around so he knew she was talking about the kingdom. His trail of thoughts reset at hearing this statement.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously, before cursing mentally his tongue. It apparently had created a will of its own during the worse situation possible. Still, he couldn't deny his need to satisfy his curiosity at this moment. He just hoped it wouldn't cause him trouble as it did previously. The boars still haunted his dreams after all.

She was confused a bit. Was he really clueless or just playing with her? She decided to continue talking to see if she would eventually find out. Did Viking tribes still exist up there? It would make sense, since they were cut off from the rest of the world. "Our ancestors… they were Vikings. That's why I speak…" she never finished, for he interrupted her.

"…Norse. But you have an… odd accent." He finished for her. She thought it was a bit rude to interrupt her, a princess nonetheless, but didn't say anything. She also noticed it was more like he was piecing things together than interrupting her by the way he spoke. She wondered how much he knew about her and the kingdom, or if he knew anything at all.

"Well…" she began but trailed off. If he was having trouble understanding that they, as time passed, changed their culture, how would she explain how Norse changed into Norwegian with the passage of time? She resisted the urge to let out a frustrated groan, since it would be unbefitting of a future Queen. Her father more than once had to deal with frustrating situations involving dignitaries, so she should be able to deal with something as simple as explaining the changes in a language.

"We used to speak Norse, a long time ago…" She paused to think of her next words. She briefly looked at his face and saw that he was waiting for her to continue, meaning he was so far understanding her. "But… time passed, and the language suffered some changes. New names for things that were invented were added, and most words suffered change in how they were spoken or written. That happened until one day someone called this modified Norse of Norwegian, and the original Norse, the one we're speaking, became Old Norse," she explained, making it as simple as possible. She knew the process was far from simple, if the tormenting lessons of historical grammar she has had were anything to say, but she didn't have the luxury of being allowed to be that complicated.

007

He was absorbing everything she explained. It was a hard concept for him to grasp, since the languages spoken at the tribes before he left was pretty much the same from when their ancestors first settle. He guessed that adding new words would be something similar to the name of new dragons. The word Flightmare, in example, didn't exist until someone named the dragon like this.

As for changing the way a word is spoken or written, he compared to the brief moment he visited a tribe and found out that people there spoke Naddar instead of Nadder. He was sure that it was much more complicated than that, but it would have to do for the moment. He remembered there was something he still wanted to ask her.

"What happened?" he asked. If they were Vikings, why aren't they anymore? Were they conquered, or something likes that? He heard rumors about the Romans, though he thought something happened to the empire since roman ships were not seen since his great-great-great-great-grandfather was born.

The Archipelago helped them survive throughout the ages, since Vikings held a bad reputation among the mainlanders. One of the reasons they went there was to escape being hunted to extinction, for everyone disliked them. Of course, their raiding habits didn't earn them a good reputation either, which has another reason as to why they were hunted by the mainlanders.

She tried to understand what the boy meant by asking this question. She decided to go with the idea that he thought they were no longer Vikings, and wanted to know what made them change. "We progressed," she said, as if it answered everything. "We settled down, lived in peace and progressed with no wars to worry about. Our ways changed as the years passed and some practices were long since forgotten and new practices were created to fill this vacant space," she explained.

He tapped his chin again. She was beginning to be amused by the attitude for some odd reason. "That makes sense. Fighting dragons constantly makes hard to think about something else…" he thought loudly before freezing again. He had given too much information, and by the look he was receiving from her, he wasn't going to be able to bail out of doing so. Well, he would have, eventually, to explain Toothless, so sooner or later he would have to explain the Dragon War.

With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead. It hurt a little, but nothing like his arms. His legs were also begging to rest. "I hope you're ready to hear a little story?" he said/asked, seeing that she was confused because of his statement. Sitting down slowly, as to not fall like before, he turned to look at her, waiting for an answer.

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_**AN: Again, sorry for the delay, I'll try to upload another chapter before my friend's birthday, which is Match 14. And, as always, feel free to let a review, I enjoy reading and replying , I know languages modifications are far from being as simple as I portrayed them, but, since I'm giving a realistic tone to this story-which includes political settings, geography and language barriers-I had to explain that at some point. Hiccup's curious nature would obviously question that sooner or later. Elsa would learn Old Norse as it is required of royalty to learn ancient languages, such as this one and Latin. Since Norway is more Viking influenciated than Roman, I made that she learn this instead of Latin. The reality may have been different though. While I'm trying to be as accurate as possible, this still is a fictional story, so for all of you history enthusiasts, don't come hunting me with sticks and stones if in Norway the royalty also learned Latin instead of Old Norse.**_


	13. The Viking-but-not-Viking's Tale

_**AN: Hello my fellow readers. Firstly, I'd like to apologize. I wasn't able to upload this chapter before March 14th. There will be an important AN at the end of this chapter so please, if you never read any of my ANs, read this one at least. **_

**_Review response:_**

**_Vahn N. Chrome: Thanks, I'm happy to hear that you liked it. And yes, I will use some OOCs, and canon characters as well such as Kai and Gerda, but I don't have planned yet how I'd use them. As to a pool, I'd first need to learn how to make one... But thanks for the suggestion, it does sounds interesting._**

**_SpicedGold: I must admit that I was somewhat amused when I read what I wrote for this chapter. Still, I'm happy to see that you got the essence of this chapter-which is awkwardness. I always imagined their first meeting as being very awkward after all. Also, it brings me a smile to see you reviewing again my story. _**

**_Scorpion6955: I'm sticking with the 'they were isolated from the world because of the Dragon War, hence why they weren't hunted to extinction' idea, which is the most common in the HTTYD-Frozen crossover. I did try to explain, though, how that would have worked._**

**_MM995: I don't really think it's something I have to work on, since it is something I'm aiming for in this story. I know you have read How To Become a Dragon Chief, so it must feel odd to have read an action story and now be reading a psychological story. _**

**_Noctus Fury: First of all, a-very,very,very,very,very late-happy birthday my friend. And yes, I feel the same when an author replies my reviews. Regarding your suggestion, yes one or two weapons would be enough to make him look protective. And I know what weapon he'll be using-you may be surprised at my choice. The bust idea is a nice one, but would only happen after the Great Thaw. Remember, Elsa still is afraid of her powers until them. Also, since you like Hiccup-Elsa bonding, I believe you'll enjoy this chapter, since it is entirely composed of that._**

**_So, without further ado:_**

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Elsa felt lost. The boy spoke, although absently, of fighting dragons; yet he was here with one, and possibly have been flying it before, given the saddle the creature had strapped onto itself. When she heard the boy's offer to explain himself she felt this was her opportunity to know more about this Viking boy who was clearly un-Viking, she readily agreed.

"It's not like I have a schedule" she sarcastically answered, shrugging slightly. He smiled hearing her; he didn't know many people who used sarcasm, and hearing it made him feel more comfortable, as he saw it as something they shared in common besides the fear for the unknown.

He was sweating, even though the room was chilly. Well, chilly compared to Berk's common freezing to death temperature. A girl was giving him attention, and not in a bad way. He was already progressing and he left Berk barely a month ago. 'Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to settle here for awhile,' he thought with optimism. They could live in the woods, and he could see if they could use another blacksmith in their village.

"Well... I am a Viking. Sort of…" he said, somewhat hesitantly. When she rose a questioningly eyebrow, he explained his odd answer. "Well. These guys," he pointed to Toothless, who was lying on the ground, while Hiccup's back was on his belly. "Raid us for food. Why I don't know. The villages, thinking they're mindless hungry beasts, fight back." He paused, trying to piece more words together so she wouldn't be confused.

"So, it became part of our culture learning how to fight them. You can see how well I learned," he sardonically noted. Elsa giggled a little, covering her mouth with her hand. It was a habit she took from training how to be a Queen. She liked his sarcasm; it was a trail she admired on people, though she wasn't one to often use it. It also didn't help her that she barely spoke to anyone anymore, so even if she was sarcastic she would barely use it.

"Anyway... every teen goes through Dragon Training to become a Viking," he continued explaining. "As my father used to say: 'you're not a Viking until your first kill son' like it was a rule," he spoke, imitating Stoick's voice in true fashion: deepening his voice while buffing his chest absently, already used to doing it every time he mimicked Stoick's voice, and trying to look intimidating. He had had plenty of time to perfect his imitation of his father throughout the years, and even he considered that his current imitation was a pretty good one.

This time she did not laugh, or giggle, even though she was amused. She pictured, by the voice that his father supposedly have, that the man would be the fitting image of a Viking she had: Big, burly and bearded, wearing a round shield and a chainmail. "And well. Because of this guy here," he patted Toothless, who was sleeping, "I realized I'd never be one. That I was destined to be something else than a dragon slayer," he spoke fondly.

And with a strange confidence, he continued, not noticing the moments he cut Elsa off. At first she was annoyed at it, but soon gave up, as she noticed the boy was enthralled with his tale. She couldn't deny also being enthralled, given how impossible and amazing his story was sounded. "I mean, I brought down the deadliest and rarest dragon known to Vikings. Killing him would make me a hero, a legend. Songs would be written to tell my tale. Yet I couldn't do it," he sadly said the last part, a hint of longing lingered in his words.

"Why not?" she asked, very curious to know why he gave up all of this for this creature. 'What could have changed his mind?' was the question burning through her mind, desperate to be answered. She picked the longing tone barely noticeable in his words, and figured it was probably a longing to be accepted. Her voice, though only a couple of times, used the same tone, especially when she wished she had no powers so she and Anna could be together.

"Because…" he said, then paused, as if finally thinking about it. "Because when I looked down at him, trapped and tangled in ropes, he was as afraid as I was. Because, when I looked at him, I saw myself, and it was then that I realized they were not the mindless beast I thought they were," he spoke with resolution, even though he had some sadness lingering his tone.

"Oh…" was all she could say. Honestly she wasn't expecting something as deep as that. He spoke almost as if the creature was human, capable of emotions. She was completely lost, and would be even more when she notice those words also applied to herself that night.

There was some truth in his words, as she recalled how the dragon seemed to be worried about the boy the moment it awoke. To Elsa, the thought that dragons were human-like was both amazing and terrifying, should they be as smart as a human. After all, there was no other living creature documented that could reach this level of intelligence.

"I was never one of them to begin with. Vikings are supposed to be big, burly, bearded, and strong. My dad was the fitting image of one. He was the chief after all. And I'm just a fishbone." He frowned, remembering how everyone teased him for that. "I thought bringing down a dragon would make me one of them… I was wrong," he added with a clear sad tone. Toothless nuzzled his rider in comfort.

He had awakened a while ago, and was resting, healing his sore muscles, while Hiccup spoke of his tale to the princess.

She was amazed at the sight. The creature comforted him, as if it could understand his emotions. She wondered how complex dragons were, or how much human-like they could be. Her thoughts went back to his statement of how his people saw these creatures, and she could only notice how wrong they seemed to be. And now she had no doubts, he was completely right about dragons being capable of showing emotions.

Elsa partially understood his feelings. Having powers made her different from the rest, and all she ever dreamed was that things could be normal since after nearly killing Anna. She saw it could never be after her first outburst, hence why she closed herself from everyone. She drew her legs closer to her, her chin resting on her knees. "I understand…" she said in a sad tone, a longing tear falling from her eye.

007

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At first he thought she was saying it out of pity. But seeing the sad look she had in her eyes and the tear rolling down her pale cheek, he quickly dismissed that thought. "You could say I was a disappointment to him, and the tribe. The greatest chief Berk have ever known, and his son is a talking fishbone. The teens used to pick on me because of that, at least most of them," he added, though his tone was no longer sad.

He chose not to pry on the Princess' life, since he had no idea how she would react. Despite feeling sad for seeing a tear roll down Elsa's cheek, he knew he didn't have the intimacy to ask why she was sad, or what was clearly bothering her.

007

She was horrified at this. While, yes, she was different, Anna never picked on her, neither did her parents. In fact, before the incident, all of them, especially her little sister, strongly supported her powers. Even after it, her parents never lost faith in her, the most recently proof of that being the new pair of gloves her father gave her, which somewhat helped lower the frequency of her powers' outbursts.

"Well, this is a mess," he said after a moment of silence, chuckling slightly as he ran a hand through his head. "Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" it took her a little longer to understand it wasn't a rhetorical question, mostly addressed to himself rather than at her.

"Okay…" she answered, not knowing where he wanted to begin with. Maybe with names she pondered. She realized little after that he was indeed right: his story did sound confusing, as if he picked a bunch of facts and spoke them together.

He was startled for a moment, not noticing he spoke that out loud, but seeing that Elsa was being relatively accepting toward him made him relax. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling shy, given the whole situation. He opened his mouth to speak, but failed to do so. After taking a deep breath he tried again, barely managing to be successful "I'm Hiccup…" he said averting his gaze. He didn't stutter, but even he notice his voice sounded nervous.

"You're… Hiccup?" Elsa asked a bit skeptical, while raising an eyebrow in amusement. She didn't know if she should laugh at the horrible choice of a name, or comfort the poor boy for having it. She did notice he sounded nervous, so at least, for her, she didn't have to worry about it being some kind of joke.

Still, that didn't change the fact that it was a horrible name.

"Yeah…" he said deadpanning, as if expecting this reaction. He did know his name was not the best, though there were worse. "Vikings give their children hideous names to scare trolls and gnomes," he automatically explained. 'As if our charming demeanor wouldn't do it already' he added in his head. Truly, he didn't understand why Vikings couldn't name their children less horrible names. Astrid had had the luck of having a good name after all, so it was possible for this to happen.

"I see…" she said, amused. She almost felt like reading some history books to see if Arendelle had that costume long ago back at their Viking age. Maybe even see if their initial royalty had similar names. It would certainly be amusing to read in her Royal Lineage classes 'King Hiccup the first'.

"Yeah, it's kind of stupid," he said, voicing out her thoughts. "I mean, I never believed gnomes exist, and my mentor always believed trolls exist. I think I spent too much time with him to deny the possibility now-a-days," he said, a small smile at his face as he remembered with fondness Gobber.

"They do…" she said without thinking, remembering that day they met with the trolls. She didn't notice the room was getting warmer, neither the sudden drop again when she realized what she just revealed to a boy she barely knew. They were probably trying to conceal their existence given how distant and reclusive the valley they lived was from Arendelle.

Hiccup was amazed, on the other hand, too amazed to notice the temperature shift. "They do?" he asked hopefully, completely ignoring the look of terror Elsa had on her face. "Do they steal your left socks?" he asked, curiosity written all over his face.

Elsa snapped out of the terror when she heard the weird question. She thought of questioning it, but dismissed it as a local belief. "No…" she answered skeptically, as if fearing she would hurt his beliefs.

"Well, that is interesting," he thought loudly, momentarily forgetting of her presence. She was a bit relieved that she didn't offend anything, and amused. "Did you-" he abruptly stopped, bringing Elsa's full attention. She started to think he noticed her powers, or how cold the room suddenly was.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't even ask your name," he apologized sheepishly. Nothing in his demeanor showed he noticed the coldness, or maybe it was because the north was colder than Arendelle in winter and he was used to it. The leather jacket certainly kept him warm so it was hard for him to notice those small changes in the temperature of the tower.

"Oh…" she said in relief. "I'm Elsa Vinterdahl, Princess of Arendelle," she said in her soon-to-be queenly tone. She didn't know if royalty existed up there, but figured that being the chief's son was akin to her position. She would have stood to curtsey, as a princess should do, but she felt too tired to do so.

Besides, she figured this costume probably didn't exist between Vikings, since Hiccup neither bowed nor presented himself with a title.

"Elsa…" he said, testing it out. He didn't speak, but he found absolutely lovely her name… and somehow fitting for the Princess, just like Astrid's name was fitting for the blond warrior.

"Princess…" he thought loudly, clearly confused. He figured it was a title, but didn't know what kind of title that was.

"It's like you," she began explaining, "My father is the King, so he is the ruler of Arendelle, which is our kingdom; much like your father is the chief, making him the ruler of Berk, your village. I'm her daughter, the Princess, and next in line, like you are your father's son and heir." She decided to let out a few details to make it simple. He seemed to be smart but, because he came from somewhere that has been shut out of the world for centuries, there was a lot of things he would have to learn to understand better the concept of Royalty.

Hiccup's pose, which was calm until now, abruptly changed as he suddenly stood. He looked very nervous, and started pacing around. Elsa was a bit started at the change in his behavior, but did not move.

"Oh, that means… ohh, we crashed into their ruler's house. This is bad, this is very bad," he muttered, pacing around, almost hyperventilating, "That means I'm talking to the ruler's daughter. Just great," he spoke the last part in exasperation, "First girl in years to speak to me and it just had to be the next-in-line ruler. What if he thinks you're in danger? Or if he finds us? He'll have our heads in spikes or crisp us like chicken," he asked her, frenetically pacing around.

Elsa would have laughed at his attitude if some of his questions didn't nag her. 'Indeed, what would happen if Father found them?' she pondered in her mind. 'Well, they could stay here through the day, it's not like anyone will come here,' she mentally reasoned.

She stopped at that thought, a part of her finding odd how suddenly she was feeling comfortable not only around him, but also at sheltering him, even from her father.

The castle is, since the beginning of the isolation, a place full of secrets, but she almost never considered having her own secret to hide from her parents-except the one time she started to use her powers in secrecy.

She considered that, if she could hide from Anna her powers all these years, hiding him from her father could also be accomplished, especially since it didn't depend only on her. To her, Hiccup seemed to be smart, considering how he travelled so far and how he seemed to hide his friendship with the dragon from his village.

She snapped out of her mind to tell him her suggestion when she noticed his behavior had not changed. He was muttering things too fast for her to understand, no longer preoccupied in being answered. However, she did notice the annoyed look his dragon was giving him, and was surprised to see the dragon showing yet another human trail, and also quite amused at seeing so much annoyance radiating from the black creature.

At one moment, Hiccup's head was struck by the creature's tail, as if it was telling to him 'stop acting like a child' or 'you're worrying too much'. It did seem to work, though, as he slowed down, evening his breathing before he scratched the dragon under his chin. His shoulder slightly relaxed and by the look of his face he didn't seem to be as worried as he had just been.

"Thanks bud. I think I needed that." The dragon snorted in response, as if saying 'Indeed you needed'. The giant reptile purred at the scratching, and Hiccup was soon sitting with his back leaned on Toothless again.

She cleared her throat to get his attention. "Well, you can stay here. This tower isn't used since a long time ago, and I won't tell father about you," she pointed out to both of them. Despite the risk of both him discovering about her powers and being hurt by them she was very eager to know more this un-Viking boy.

He seemed to be very clever, but his eyes showed he had dealt with many different feelings before. She almost felt like looking at her father's eyes when the King spoke of his childhood, and she wondered how this boy's childhood had been.

Hiccup left a sigh out in relief before quickly blushing. "W-well… thanks, I guess," he said shyly. Elsa smiled at his antique, his statement being very clear. She controlled the small blush that threatened to appear since, considering the facts; he was the first boy she ever spoke in years too and was probably of her age.

But there was no need for him to know that.

"So, where was I?" and after a quick pause he continued, "Right. So my father, Stoick the Vast, was the chief of Berk. It's a small village located in a cliffy island. Because of the raids, we had our contact with the other island cut short, and pretty much everything we needed we did. You could say we stopped on time, since there was little room to do anything besides fighting them." He gestured absentmindedly to Toothless.

"When I was growing up, and my… Differences"-she could tell he thought before saying that, given how he hesitated to use the word-"Became evident, he introduced me to Gobber the Belch, his best friend and the village's blacksmith," he said smiling, remembering when he was introduced to the man. He had been afraid of the man, considering how much metal Gobber had instead of flesh, but soon as he became his apprentice, he found out that Gobber was quite playful and friendly, thus quickly beginning their friendship.

Elsa was familiar with the profession. Arendelle's royalty had their own blacksmith, though Father had sent him away along with most of the staff when the isolation began. Still, she was quite perplexed that the boy when younger was working around molten metal and the furnace. Apprentices usually were only slightly younger than her age, yet he seemed to talk as if he had been a blacksmith apprentice since he learned to walk.

"I soon became his apprentice, and after a while he became a friend to me. Sometimes he would look out after me when my dad was away looking for the Dragon's nest. You could say he was sort of a fatherly figure. At least better than dad was," he said, his smile changing into a sad frown. He was torn between being mad, and sad at his dad, considering how the only time he was looked upon with approval was before he had to leave Berk.

Elsa didn't know what to say. Even though she was in isolation, her father was always there to support her. She couldn't even imagine how it would have been her life without her father's support. She admitted that, once or twice, she thought on running away, perhaps to the North Mountain and living there, so her family would be safe and together again.

It was and still is her father's and mother's underlying support that kept her here, in hope that one day they would become one again. A small tingle of hope still resided inside her, refusing to die down no matter what, surviving even her first, and by far worst, power outburst.

"He thought that if I took the apprenticeship, I would build some muscle, and become more…Viking-like. Years passed and it became clear to him that he was wrong. He grew distant and most of the times he would speak at me as chief rather than my father," he spoke, his eyes showing hurt, beyond Elsa's imagination, that he felt whenever his father looked at him disappointed simply because of what Hiccup was.

"Because he was very distant, Gobber taught me almost everything I know. At first I just helped his work, but when I was old enough, he taught me how to forge, sharpen and those sorts of things. He also began teaching me how to read and write, but I soon took over, especially to read more about forging." The hurt didn't leave his eyes, but a glint of light also appeared.

She imagined this man, who also had a funny name, had been his pillar of support and strength all those years he spent on his tribe. She wondered about his mother, considering he didn't say a word about her. She thought about asking, but fearing reaching a touchy subject she quickly dismissed the idea, deciding to remain silent while hearing his tale.

"We would sometimes be visited from Trader Johann. I always traded with him stuff for some paper and ink, and books. And he was always happy about it since I was pretty much the only one that would buy that sort of thing," he noted with some amusement. He recalled Johann's words at how he could become a great trader if he wanted to. Though he figured that if he would go for a job, he certainly would choose to be a blacksmith.

"Pretty much the only one?" Elsa asked, thinking if he was the only one that read in his tribe. "Do you mean there was someone else that bought these things?" she pondered. Not everyone in Arendelle read, not because of poverty, but because some jobs, like the people that worked at the docks, barely had any spare time, so reading was practically out of question.

But they way he spoke unsettled her by making her think that not everyone in his tribe even knew how to read, much less did something of the sorts. It would make sense, since reading required paper, and paper was very flammable. Having dragons around would surely discourage the habit of storing books and papers.

"Yeah..." he answered a bit hesitant. She didn't miss another pained look he had in his face… "There was this boy called Fishlegs…" and Elsa couldn't avoid giggling since she found the name so funny, even funnier than his or his mentor's name. He smiled; her laugh sounded like music to his ears. He never got a girl to laugh, at least not without him being the joke, before; so managing to do so felt very good. He blushed slightly while thinking of this, but neither of them noticed it.

Once she finished giggling he continued. His blush was no longer existent for her to see. "He liked to read, a lot. We used to be friends, but when I grew apart from the rest because of my differences, he ended up joining them." His smile vanished, and so did Elsa's.

She didn't notice, but she was starting to feel sad whenever she saw a pained or a hurt look on Hiccup's face. She was unknowingly growing fond of the boy, and couldn't understand how anyone could dismiss such friendly person, or at least as friend as he had been so far with her.

"He got distant since all he wanted was their acceptance, pretty much like me. And, although he liked to read a lot, he was big, very big. And because he could handle a weapon, he was accepted by the gang. He would never tease me or anything, because he never quite stopped being a friend, so to speak. But he wouldn't try to defend me either…"

Elsa understood very well how it felt to lose a friend, especially because of being different. After all, that was what happened between her and Anna… sort of, at least. She lost her best friend because of her powers. The more she thought about what he was telling her, the more she saw that they were similar in many aspects, despite the cultural and historic differences of course, making her feel sympathetic to his situation.

"Still... I was so focused on getting my father's approval that, once Gobber taught me everything he knew, I started using it to compensate my lack of muscles. I learned how to sketch, and soon I was building machines and contraptions to help me kill a dragon," he explained, while his face showed some disgust. Elsa linked the disgust to the idea of killing dragons, seeing how he was being friendly toward one.

"Most of the times, my inventions backfired and destroyed something in the village. Sometimes I accidentally set houses on fire, sometimes I destroyed one of our boats, and last time I accidentally destroyed half of our harbor, not to mention that my little mistakes ended up helping the dragon steal our livestock. Because of that I wasn't exactly the most beloved by the village," he spoke, laughing at the memories.

Apart from the lecturing his father gave him every time one of his inventions backfired, or the teasing the teens gave, he was sometimes amazed at how he could be more destructive than the dragons themselves. He had once heard the Twins marveling his power of destruction, even though it didn't surprise him so much, as they were always causing trouble to his father.

She flinched. She was right after all; he seemed harmless, but deep inside was dangerous. She couldn't imagine what he had built that could possibly destroy half a harbor, no matter its size. Or burn houses… He was, in a way, pretty much like her. On the outside, she was just a princess, but inside, she had ice powers that could kill someone, as she almost did with Anna… 'To think that 3 greatly destructive beings are confined to the space of a small tower for the time being' she thought, amused at the irony.

Luckily, she didn't climb on these thoughts for long because she was constantly being snapped out as he kept speaking of his story. She found amusing the change, since it was only a mere moment ago that he was being shy and nervous from talking to a foreign girl, and yet now he was all carefree telling the history of his life. She also noticed he barely remembered of her being in the room; it was like he was spilling out everything of his life out of need.

"Ironically, when I made my biggest mistake was also when one of my inventions finally worked. I created a bola launcher to throw bolas for me and I called it 'the Mangler'." Elsa flinched at hearing the name, but he didn't notice. "And when I used it I managed to bring down the deadliest dragon known to Vikings: Him…" He pointed to Toothless, who held his head high as if liking the compliment of 'deadliest dragon'.

She left a giggle out after seeing the proud, smug grin on the dragon's face. Hiccup saw the look and muttered teasingly something on the lines of 'proud salamander' earning a glare from Toothless.

When she stopped laughing a thought came to her "So, you mean that there are more dragons, other than him?" Elsa asked, wondering if there were different kinds as he seemed to imply. She thought that, if there really were, they might be like dogs, which have different breeds.

"Yeah, there were a lot of breeds. Some were like giant humming bees with bludgeon like tails and rock-like skin. Some had two heads or even four. There is one that looked like a bird, but with spikes in its tail. There was one that could lit himself on fire, some that had 4 wings instead of two, one that could spray boiling water, one that could burry himself underground. There were a lot of different types of dragons with different abilities," he explained, oblivious to the fearful look in Elsa's face.

She couldn't imagine how unsettling it would be to face a 4-headed dragon. The stories only spoke of dragons with one head, and they were frightening enough.

"And Toothless was considered the most dangerous one. You see, when he came on the raids, he never took our food, never showed up, and most importantly, never missed. No one had ever seen him before, least of all engaged in combat…" he recited, and Toothless huffed in agreement, holding himself highly and proudly. "And I was determined to shoot him down to prove myself worthy of my tribe, and my father."

He finally spoke his motives for hunting and shooting down the dragon, she noticed.

Elsa felt respectful and pitiful of Hiccup, considering he went above and beyond to gain his father's approval. She somewhat tried to do that by doing her best to conceal her feelings and by putting every effort in keeping at bay her powers and by working to be a good Queen.

But her attempt to get his approval didn't last long after her father spoke to her, seeming very sad and guilty of the 'polite attitude' she was having during their first lessons. Since then she relaxed on this task, no longer feeling so pressured and intimidated by her father, though still wary of letting either him or her mother too close to her.

"That day I managed to shoot him down. Of course no one believed I did so I went to find him all by myself." She left a small gasp escape her lips at the thought of him facing alone the dragon behind him. "That's when I found him tangled in the woods. I was determined to kill him until I looked into his eyes." He sighed, "As I told you before, I found out I couldn't kill him, so I set him free." He paused, patting unconsciously the dragon. She admired his bravery, not only of going alone, but of also freeing his enemy.

"So… what happened? He didn't kill you, as you're here. And didn't fly away, as he's here with you." she commented, eager to know how two enemies became so close. Her mind was playing a million different scenarios, trying to come up to an explanation of what happened, and most importantly, how from enemies they became friends.

A flash of guilt washed through him, and his shoulders crumbled a little. Both she and the dragon noticed that. Before she could ask though, the dragon nuzzled him as if trying to cheer him up. It apparently worked, as a smile crossed his face. "I know bud, despite what it brought to us I can't stop from feeling bad about it, but thanks anyway," he spoke to the dragon, apparently more cheerful than what his face showed her seconds ago.

The dragon crooned happily, before licking his rider's face. The giant tongue made him fall flat on his back, while the dragon continued his saliva assault. Hiccup tried, unsuccessfully, to cover his face with his arms, since he was kind of pinned by Toothless' head. He laughed at his dragon's antic, before playfully scolding him. "Come one bud, stop, we have a princess watching us." Said dragon gave one last big lick before settling down, allowing him to get up and, at least try to, clean himself.

She was laughing quietly at the situation before her, covering her mouth with her hand as per habit of her Queen training. It was an amusing sigh to behold, and equally unusual for her. She also laughed a bit more when she heard Hiccup mutter 'thanks for nothing useless reptile' to Toothless.

The way they acted regarding one another only increased her curiosity of how they became friends.

He cleaned his face of the dragon saliva as much as he could before continuing telling Elsa hisa story.

"As I was saying before someone interrupted me"-he cast a glance to the dragon, who just huffed in response. Elsa could clearly read 'I regret nothing' in his attitude-"I freed him and he pounced on me." Elsa paled at the mere thought of having that dragon pouncing on her, while looking threateningly.

"I thought it was the end of me, since we were taught that dragons always go for the kill. I closed my eyes, waiting to be crisped like a chicken, but the only thing he did was make me be half deaf by roaring in my ear. Then he ran away," he said, his face slightly pale as he probably was reliving that day. The only time he had been as afraid as his first meeting with Toothless was when meeting Windwalker for the first time.

She tried picturing the scene; how she would feel if she was in his situation. It was hard though, as she have never been in a life threatening situation before. Still, she could only imagine the panic he must have felt that moment. However the way he spoke made it seem to her that he had been somewhat accepting his fate that moment. She briefly wondered if he had thought so little of himself to the point that a part of him would be glad of embracing death.

Even at her worst times she never considered death as an escape, nor did she think she would accept it if she was facing it. If he really was as similar to her as she thought, she couldn't even think of how hellish his life must have been to reach that point. His current demeanor was the complete opposite of someone that had inside the idea that his own death would be better for everyone.

She was glad that he spoke up before she could lose herself into this macabre idea.

007

Hiccup stopped patting Toothless once a question came up to his mind. "Do know you how long I was out? The moon shifted a lot from when I was last awake," he asked; a little worried that he might have had a head injury on the crash and blacked out for too long, even though the time he spent telling his story to her spoke otherwise about his mental state.

Not to mention the way Toothless tackled him. He knew that, if he had a head injury, Toothless would never do that.

Elsa stopped to think. Since she was used to gazing at the moon, she more or less could tell how much time has passed based on the shifting of its position. It had been a pastime she acquired after too many sleepless nights gazing at the lonely figure in the sky. When she learned that she could guess time by watching the moon's position shift, she quickly learned how to. "I think it was more or less 4 hours," she said, a bit doubtful, while lightly scratching her chin.

"Well, I guess I'm too thick headed to be hurt after hitting a wall," he sardonically commented, chuckling. He was relieved that he didn't pass out too long, meaning he had no serious injuries. Toothless also seemed to feel the same, as he felt the dragon's muscles relax slightly.

Elsa chuckled a little too at his humor. She felt much better talking to him that she practically forgot the reason she had come to the tower this night. Hearing his story made her mind be astray from the thoughts that often plagued her mind-in special the memories of what had happened earlier this, when her mother was teaching her. She felt comfort in seeing how he seemed to experience similar pains she did, and a part of her didn't even want him to leave. But when she checked the sky, her smile vanished as her mind went back to her real life.

"I guess I must be going…" she said with a sad tone. During Hiccup's talk she didn't even notice how her shoulders relaxed, or how little her powers frosted the wall. "They'll start searching for me if I'm not found in my room." she sadly added. Hiccup could tell that she didn't want to leave, though apparently nothing could be done. He didn't question about her habits, so there was no way he knew if she was an early riser or not.

"Will you stay? I'd like to hear more of your tales…"

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_**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW**_

**_Due to the recent events that has happened to me-driving school just started, uni decided to pound us with homework until we're soaked to the bones with tiredness, my friend losing her baby one month before it was supposed to be born, among other things- I feel I have lost sight of this story's path-even though I have the next chapter ready- and have little time to work on it and on How To Become a Dragon Chief. Because of that I'm putting this story on hold until June-July (which means there will be NO updates until them) so I can finish driving school and get used to my workload from uni, so I can start writing again this story. I want to give you guys a story worthy of the time of each one of you, and I don't feel the lastest stretches are meeting this requirement. I'm sorry if I'm disappointing any and/or all of you by putting it on hold so I can plan it out again, but I feel that this is the best course of action to do this. I also want to wrap up HTBADC so my focus will be exclusively on HTLIG. If any of you wish to speak of something regarding this story, or just curse me, feel free to send me a PM._**

**_Until June my friends!_**


	14. Elsa's First Secret

_**AN: Hello my friends! The hiatus of How To Let It Go is finally lifted. I apologize for slightly lacking precision two months ago, but I had meant to say that this story would be on Hiatus until the end of June. Anyway, How To Become a Dragon Chief's draft is finally complete, so now I can focus entirelly on this story. Since it's been awhile since I watched the movie, and read Frozen fics, I may be a little rusty, and therefore update rather sporadically.**_

_**Anyway, here is the review response (so many!):**_

_**Vanh N. Chrome: No need to be sad anymore, this story is oficially back in track. We couldn't leave poor Elsa and Hiccup like this could we? We need to see them become buddies and all :D**_

**_ravenx1988: No need to wait anymore. Here is the next chapter_**

**_The-real-dragon-rider: Hello, first of all I wanted to say that I'm very happy that you see this story with such good eyes. Also, the idea you presented to me is very interest, and I might, emphasis on might, use it if I find a fitting way to do it. As to my first language, no, it isn't German. Also, I believe I took care of the repeated paragraph (man these seem to haunt this story). Anway, do tell me if you find one. It's readers like you that help my story be as good as you all say. Hope you enjoy the chapter._**

**_Noctus Fury: All of How To Let It Go is centered around the Hiccup-Elsa bonding. You may not hear from Berk for awhile, although I do know how to make some scenes with it without making this story seem like a copy of 'No Need For Titles' from A Single Cup (even though this one came way earlier). And, you can always give me your email so we can stay in touch, should you not be able to make a fanfiction account. I hope you enjoy the chapter._**

**_Guest: Yeah, Windwalker's name did come to me from the book series, but the dragon, his physics and abilities, were exclusively based on my imagination and DreamWorks' work. My depression hasn't sadly gone away, and I don't know if it will anytime soon, but I do appreciate the feeling. Hope you'll enjoy the chapter._**

**_Bigfan: well, it's okay. You did remember make a 'review' regarding your review, just to say your actual nickname. Thanks :)_**

**_SpicedGold: Ah, it always brightens my mood to read your reviews my friend. There are many more movie dialogues I'll work up, with Hiccup being thrown in the middle. It was, after all, one of the main reasons I started to write this story. And yes, writing Hiccup's view of the world is curious indeed, because it's so different from every other character. They will still be awkward, and it'll be chapters (months) before he even gets a handshake from her, but they'll work it out. Elsa sees a lot of herself-both good and bad- in him, or his situation, so she tends to be more at ease with him than with anyone else._**

**_orca3553: Here it is the next chapter. I hope you like it!_**

**_8goose8: While I do appreciate that you have left a review showing that you do like this story and want to read more of it, I do wish that you had written something else than simply 'please update'. I do appreciate the review, but I had specifically said it was on hiatus for a certain amount of time. Had you written this review the day I published the last chapter, it wouldn't have changed that this chapter would be uploaded only two months after it._**

**_Without further ado, How To Let It Go is oficially back:_**

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"Will you stay? I'd like to hear more of your tales…" she asked after a moment of awkward silence, sounding a bit hopeful. She had to restrain herself from being too hopeful in case he wouldn't; after all he came to the tower because they apparently had crashed. As far as she knew he could have explained his story just so she didn't snitch him to her father. Elsa admitted, to herself, that if she could hear more of his story, it would be very nice, since it made her forget of all those dreadful thoughts that tormented her during her solitary moments.

"I guess I can stay… We can fish later some food, and he'll probably want to fly later, but I don't think we have any need to leave," he answered a bit thoughtfully, "You sure nobody will find us here?" his voice showed a hint of worry, since what he most feared was being discovered. Not that he could be in danger, as it seemed he wouldn't be, but how they would react to Toothless. Chances were that they would act out of fear and drive them off.

Elsa just gave him a reassuring smile, which was all he needed. She wouldn't say, but she wasn't completely sure no one came to the tower during the day. She hoped not, otherwise not only she would have betrayed his trust on her if someone came, but also accidentally caused him to leave. Without a word, she slowly stood and waved a shy goodbye before leaving. Hiccup was aware enough to reply it before her figure left the tower.

After a minute he turned to his dragon. "At least we had a good start, didn't we bud?" he asked his dragon, who crooned in agreement. "I guess it would be better if we check on Windwalker, he must be very worried," he suggested. The tail didn't take more than a couple of minutes to fix; it had, much to Hiccup's luck, sustained no serious damage when they crashed. Once repaired, he hopped on Toothless and they soon flied off to find Windwalker, figuring the dragon would be deep in worry about them.

Once they found him in the woods, Hiccup sat to explain what happened. It would be of no use trying to talk with Windwalker considering how, oddly, his eyes seemed to show such worry. It was understandable though, and Hiccup was grateful that the white dragon didn't go to the tower during those hours he had been unconscious, or when he was talking to Elsa. One dragon had been certainly more than enough for the princess to take in.

"We ended up crashing. I was knocked out by about four hours. Besides that, I think neither of us has broken any bones, or serious injuries. I was a bit dizzy when I awoke but it has passed a long time ago," he answered when the dragon asked about their conditions.

'Well, that explains why you both look like nothing happened. But what took you so long?' he asked, suspicious rising when Hiccup got a little nervous. If he had been knocked out for four hours, something held him inside the tower. To Windwalker, even the time he would have spent fixing the tail wouldn't be this long. He was worried that they had been discovered by someone.

"Well…" he began, rubbing the back of his neck, "Turns out there was someone there. Of everyone that could find us it had been a Princess. From what I guessed, the ruler of this land, which is called a King, lives there, and she as heir and daughter is a Princess." Windwalker held his gaze, fearing what could have happened for them to take so long. They weren't captured, since Hiccup arrived at ease and spoke smoothly to him.

He didn't need to worry for long, as Hiccup said what happened. "I ended up telling her a bit of my story, mostly about Berk and my life there before meeting Toothless, and she agreed not to report us or anything. She also assured we could rest there, and to me it didn't seem she would betray us. She seemed to be afraid of us at first, but I think because I'm a Viking and he's a dragon. I learned that this village was a Viking settlement before, but because they didn't engage in any wars, they progressed and changed as time passed."

Windwalker felt happy to hear that this place rose from the bloodthirsty Vikings they had once been. It was already a pro to settle down awhile in here. The dragon also considered the fact that there were no torches out or cries of terror or anything of the sorts. That must mean the girl held her word. 'And what do you think? Think it's safe to be there?' Windwalker asked.

"Well, she did say the tower was deserted. I think it's because of this that she was there in the first place. She also seemed to want to hear more of my story, so I don't think she would suggest resting there if the possibility of being found existed," he said, amused that someone would want to hear his 'dramatic' life story.

"However she thinks I have only Toothless. So if you hear her coming, try hiding out, or flying off the tower. At least until she's ready to meet you. It looks like she goes there when its night, so you would have no problem hiding in the ceiling or flying off the tower to come here," he pointed out, thinking already how to manage it. If it was shocking already for the girl to find a dragon, and also that the creature is capable of expressing emotions he didn't even want to think what she would do if she met a dragon capable of talking and entering one's mind. He shivered, recalling his first encounter with Windwalker.

'Well, I'll follow your suggestions if you're sure of It.' he spoke, somewhat begrudgingly, 'Let's just hope were not found like back at the island' he recalled. Hiccup nodded in agreement and soon they both flew to the tower. Since the narrow window was enlarged a little by Toothless' crash, Windwalker managed to go through it without much difficult. Soon they were fast asleep, with Windwalker changing turns with Toothless on guarding the entrance.

007

007

Meanwhile Elsa couldn't stop to think about meeting the boy. So far that her disastrous lesson didn't even come up on her mind. He had many trails they both shared, and yet he was fun and a bit carefree, like Anna. He also seemed to be a bit disastrous like her own sister, which only increased her fondness for the boy, although his disasters were much bigger when speaking of destruction than Anna's. A couple of armor sets is nothing compared to half a harbor.

She lit a candle that was on her desk. The faint light was more than enough for her to try drawing both Hiccup and the dragon. The later turned out to be quite difficult since she couldn't see much of the dark creature. She couldn't see much of Hiccup either, as the moonlight was faint that night, though he didn't look like he was higher than Elsa. She settled on drawing one looking at another, just like she saw they do on various moments. It was a scene that struck a feeling inside her, seeing how close they seemed to be with one another, and how the dragon could comfort the lonely boy.

Satisfied with the sketch, she decided to detail it later, perhaps even after she meets them again so she could add more detail and precision to the drawing. Once she washed her face and her hands, she changed into her nightglow and went to her bed. Her smile never vanished from her face as she lay down in the soft mattress and covered herself with the silk blankets. Although the cold never bothered her, she mostly did it as habit, and also because she felt somehow protected. The moon's light illuminated softly her room; being so low in the sky reminded the princess that it would be another night of little sleep, before yet another day came.

But this time, it was the first time in many days that Elsa had a peaceful sleep, even if it was a short one. Being in Hiccup's company after the initial scare had definitely softened her worries, and eased her mind. A part of her subconsciously noticed how she barely had to focus on her powers, further helping her drift into an easy sleep. Hiccup was in a similar state, being able to sleep in the tower with little worry of being discovered. His own nature forbid him of thinking he would be betrayed, so he also had a peaceful sleep, much easier than the nights he had while on the Archipelago.

007

The next day was… unusual for the Queen. She knocked on Elsa's door to see if her daughter wanted to continue the lessons that were… abruptly ended the day, and was half-expecting that Elsa wouldn't open the door and tell her she wanted to be alone, or that Elsa wouldn't even answer, considering how upset her daughter have been of once again losing control.

The Queen herself had an uneasy sleep that night, and was afraid this would be one of the days Elsa would completely shut them out for the whole day. It would not be the first time, as Elsa did this every time her powers came out. The, somewhat, regular occurrence of this, was the reason of how she knew Elsa would shut out. However, it did nothing but add pain to the heart of the Queen. Still, she learned to never lose any hope, and always thought that if she showed that to Elsa, her daughter would recover quicker of the incident.

So it was only natural that she was surprised and shocked to hear Elsa answer "In a moment Mama" with a rather jovial tone, almost as if Elsa had found a miracle, when visiting that tower the night before, that had lifted some weight from her shoulders. She was even more shocked that her tone indicated she had a peaceful sleep, something Idun knew it was very rare of Elsa to achieve these days, much to her and Agdar's despond.

She was even more surprised when Elsa opened the door with a shy smile on her face. More so when, throughout the lessons, Elsa showed interest on those, a little more than the usual. The last surprise came when, at the end, she showed interest in memorizing the names of the royal family, especially the initial ones who still were in the Viking age, being also the funniest ones to do so. Her demeanor, although Elsa still kept her usual distance, seemed nothing alike of the frightened child the Queen saw yesterday before leaving the room.

The Queen, however, wouldn't complain. It had been a couple of years since she saw Elsa like how she was this day. She remembered the days where they would be talking, rhyming, and even the optimism that Elsa had about one day opening the doors. She remembered her surprise of first seeing Elsa come out of her room, or when she decided to surprise Anna in her sister's birthday by coming out and having a meal with her whole family…

…Until her powers had an outburst when she was 12. She closed off from Anna again, and even from her and her husband. Since then she never took granted whenever Elsa was in a good mood or smiling, given how rare these days were. Her husband's new pair of gloves seemed to regain some of the shattered confidence Elsa had ever since she lost hope of achieving all that Idun thought it would happen.

The last surprise came when the Queen was closing the royal lineage book. "Isn't a bit funny the names our first rulers had Mama?" Elsa commented somewhat amusedly. For a moment, the princess briefly remembered the last night, and the names that Hiccup spoke. Until that moment, she couldn't stop herself from being amused that someone would be called hiccup, given how a hiccup was always a hilarious thing to see.

The Queen was at a loss of words; since it was rare to Elsa actually engage a conversation, besides the usual lessons. She only snapped out of her shock when Elsa spoke to her. "Mama? Is everything all right?" she asked, a bit worried that she didn't give an answer before. Elsa noticed she was a bit less restrained today, attributing it to her easy sleep, but it still worried her that her mother was silent for so long.

She gave her daughter a reassuring smile. "Everything is all right dear. I was just thinking about your comment," she spoke fondly, covering up her shock. Seeing that Elsa had an expectant look, Idun remembered to answer her question. She would think later about this behavior, and see if it was a sign that things would be better. Perhaps Agdar could have something to add of why Elsa seemed much happier today, even though she had an outburst the day before.

"Indeed." She agreed after giving Elsa's comment a thought or two. "It's quite amusing the names they had. They used to be Vikings before settling, so maybe perhaps it was a costume to name their children with funny names. A few places up north in our kingdom still name their children with such odd names," she said chuckling a little. She agreed with Elsa's commented, but never stopped to think about before today.

"Do you know why they gave these funny names?" Elsa asked with some curiosity. True that Hiccup told her why, and she believed the boy after hearing a part of his story, but she wanted to see if the reason was lost in time or not. Given how her mother and father knew so much, she somewhat expected them to know it if the reason survived through time. And also Elsa hadn't had the time to look in the library at night.

"I…" she hesitated, trying to remember if she had ever known the reason. "Don't know. Maybe there is a book in our library regarding Viking costumes that says why. Would you mind telling me what sparked such curiosity?" she asked Elsa with some curiosity, but not because of the reason. It was of Elsa's sudden interest in the Viking age of Arendelle. Her daughter always seemed so bored by it, no doubt a trail she inherited from her mother, so it was odd to see Elsa suddenly sparkle in interest about this subject.

Elsa's froze, not expecting the question. She didn't want to tell the truth, at least not yet. She didn't fully trust him, but she had promised the boy he could be there. Not only that, but she was afraid that her parents, out of fear, would drive him away, a thing she didn't want, even though Elsa didn't fully know this. Because of this she began thinking of an excuse, although feeling guilty for trying to lie to her mother.

She didn't come with a good one due to time restrain. She didn't want her mother thinking she asked something wrong, or anything of the sorts. "I was just curious I guess," she said, trying not to sound nervous. If she had sounded like it, and her mother noticed, the women did not show it. She would tell her mother about him, since she was the one more open minded of her parents, but not at this moment.

The Queen noticed the subtle change in her behavior, but said nothing. One thing that she and Agdar learned those years was not to press Elsa. If her daughter wanted to say anything, they would wait until she was ready to do so. Still, Idun couldn't stop herself from feeling pained seeing yet another secret hidden in these walls. It was a similar pain she felt when she lied to Anna.

Idun gave another reassuring smile, which relieved Elsa a bit. Years of having only two visitors had allowed her to master the ability to read every nuance her mother's and father's face would show. So, when she was looking at her mother's face, she saw the subtle changed indicating the Queen was not entirely convinced of her answer, and felt relieved that she wouldn't press on the matter.

And she didn't want her mother to believe in her. For some reason, she didn't want her parents to believe in any lies she would say. Her life was full of those. And because of that, she was relieved by the fact that her mother didn't press on, that she would give her time and space so Elsa would only talk when she felt ready to do so. That struck a chord of guilt inside Elsa. Her parents had been incredibly supporting and understanding. They never pushed her and never lied. Unfortunately Anna couldn't say the same, although it was for the best, as she and her parents always thought.

However, the chord wasn't struck only because of this. It was slightly because she remembered the young Viking's story he told her. How he never had the support of his parents. No… he said of his father, but what about his mother? This was a question she left unasked and thus unanswered. She feared he didn't speak because he had lost her mother. Given the dragons he spoke about, she wouldn't be surprised if his tribe had casualties when fighting those creatures.

Now that Elsa really stopped to think, the boy never spoke of his mother. A million questions ran through her head, and little did Elsa know that the only situation she didn't think was the truth. Her curiosity was begging to ask the question, but her common sense was telling her it was better not to.

Elsa got so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice her mother smiling at her thoughtful expression, her mother bidding her a 'see you later' or the door closing. She didn't notice Idun observe her, nor the conflicted emotions her mother felt during the whole silence. She only came out of her thoughts once the door closed, and she sighed a bit sadly, feeling guilty of forgetting momentarily about her mother's presence.

007

007

Idun was puzzled at how lost in thoughts Elsa was. It was rare to see her daughter lost in those for so long. She reasoned that maybe it had to do with her power outburst, since it had been awhile she had one. But that didn't explain the unusual behavior she had during their time together today. A longing side of her even hoped that Elsa would touch her, like she used to when they got closer 5 years ago.

Nevertheless, Idun was as happy as when Elsa showed her drawings. Thankfully, it was one of the few things Elsa didn't stop doing after the outburst. The Queen would sometimes ask to keep some of those and later show Anna, who would both have a happy and a longing look each time she saw those drawings. Sometimes the young princess would stay by Elsa's door and speak about anything, just like she did years ago. Although, Idun notice the frequency to which she did that decreased. She feared the day anyone in her family would lose hope, and that the hopelessness would extend to the rest of the family like a sickness.

There was no denial to Idun that that pencil set Anna gave to Elsa on her birthday was probably the best gift everyone had given her in these 7 years, probably besides the musical box. From what she and Agdar had seen, the little box was one of the few things that could sooth Elsa. There was also the fact that Anna longed for the proximity she shared with Elsa those months after Marie's departure, although her maturity made her partially conceal the feeling.

She decided to speak with Agdar about this. A part of her, although with righteous fear, hoped that this was a signal that she would open up again. It didn't matter to her if it would be slow and gradual the process, or even slower than Elsa's first try, only that it would happen. She thought his opinion would shed some light in whenever Elsa was again slowly opening up, or if today had been an exception to the sad routine they have.

It was a good thing that the days were short during winter. This meant Agdar had less work than the usual to worry about, which meant she could have a more profound conversation with him. It also meant most of the day she would spend with Elsa, before retreating to her room, or to the library. It gave her the illusion of proximity, but after years of secrets and isolation, it was good to be alluded once in awhile. It made her forget how broken her family was…

Unfortunately Anna disagreed with this. Short days meant she couldn't be pacing around for so long, and that she spent little time with her parents. Or speaking to Elsa in the past… on the other hand, it was a solid excuse to share a cup of hot chocolate with Gerda and talk to her, or two cups… or three… maybe more if Gerda didn't stop Anna, even though the servant would never be able to be mad with Anna.

Idun didn't even bother to check out if Elsa went or not to the tower that night. Her daughter's demeanor showed unlikely for her to visit the tower, even though Idun had a nagging feeling that the place was associated with Elsa's sudden change. Once she was in her nightdress and saw her husband in the bed, she immediately began a conversation.

"Elsa was rather odd today…" she commented, watching her husband's reaction.

Agdar was confused about the statement, if not lost. Not bewildered, or shocked, just plainly confused as if he had it written all over his face. He quickly put the book he was reading on his bed table to give his wife full attention. He raised a questioning eyebrow at his wife. "How so?" was the only question he made.

Idun sighed. This would be one of those nights they have a fairly long conversation. "I went to her room today to see if she wanted to finish her lessons. After all we didn't finish it yesterday…" She briefly recalled yesterday's events, but didn't give much attention to it. Idun didn't need to explain more what she meant, for those words and the look on her face said everything. "But then she answered. In a jovial tone nonetheless!" She spoke, showing that she was still confused about it.

Agdar didn't understand what the big deal about that was. Sure it was odd considering what happened the day before, but he didn't see this as alarming, and couldn't put himself in his wife's position to see the issue. "Well, maybe she had a good night. We both know she doesn't get many of those these days. I'm sorry but I don't see what's wrong in Elsa's behavior…" he reasoned.

"But that's not all" she interrupted him. "She opened the door smiling. It was weeks since she gave me a genuine smile. And," she paused to breath, "During all of our lessons she was unusually interested in it, especially at the end where we were memorizing the royal lineage." She paused to take a breath before continuing, "It was like a fire lighted inside her or something like that." She tried to explain.

Now this surprised Agdar. He perfectly recalled his wife telling how Elsa drifted to sleep out of boredom the day before. He had been amused at how Elsa inherited this trail from her mother, just like she inherited the taste for chocolate from his wife. He furred his eyebrows in thought "Well, I must agree with you. It is indeed rather odd," he conceded.

"And that's not all…" she exclaimed, as if holding out a grand finale. "She actually talked to me after we finished that lesson."

If the King had his wife's hair, his eyebrows would have hidden behind it as they impossibly shot up. "And what did she say?" he asked, in utter curiosity. Since her accident 3 years ago, it was rare of Elsa to engage in a conversation, no matter how short, and even less to begin one.

"She commented to me, rather amused, that our first rulers had funny names. And even asked me if I knew why," the Queen said, laughing a little at how impossible the situation seemed to be. Idun couldn't deny how happy she felt, despite also being wary, of Elsa's change. She felt so… normal teaching her daughter, as if the isolation had never existed, nor the loopholes in their relationship.

He scratched his chin in thoughts. He was very surprised at the oddness of the whole situation and couldn't deny it anymore. He had thought Idun was exaggerating but this fact just proved him wrong. He decided to first see if there was any more oddness that the Queen would like to share. "And did anything else odd happen?"

The Queen furred her eyebrows together, as if trying to remember anything more. It wasn't until a second later that her face changed to one of realization. "Yes… I asked her why the sudden interest and her behavior suddenly changed. She did answer me, but I saw her hesitate, as if afraid of telling the real reason. Then… she just got lost in thoughts. Thinking of what I really don't know," she said, as if a bit bewildered at the action.

"She didn't acknowledge when I spoke to her, or even when I opened the door. It was like she was lost in her own mind." Idun stopped, considering something. "Do you think she's hiding something from us dear?" she asked with a neutral tone, although her face betrayed her. It was plain to see that she didn't want this to be true.

Since he was more familiar with concealing emotions, he could read better Elsa; however he had not in the room today. Unfortunately, he came to a conclusion not so comforting. "I'm afraid she is. Although I believe she has her reasons," he spoke, trying to reassure her wife when she had a crestfallen expression.

"Maybe she's afraid of losing it, or of our reaction. Something must have happened on that tower to change her demeanor, and she must feel insecure about letting us know. Just like she hid from us that she was practicing her powers, because she was afraid of how we would react. No matter how much we reassure her. It doesn't seem to be anything worrying. She'll tell us when she feels ready, just like the times she went out of her room," he reassured his wife. He didn't know what happened in that tower, but he just hoped it wouldn't cause, in the end, more pain, as her hidden power training accidentally did.

He gave his wife a hug when a lone tear ran through her cheek. He noticed she was working hard not to sob as she let out some occasional sniffs. "I know it's hard to know our daughter is hiding something from us. But I am sure she'll tell us when she is ready. In the mean time, let's just be happy that she is happy because of It," he spoke soothingly while holding her. It pained him to see her so sad, but, used to a life of concealing emotions, he didn't show it.

Idun didn't speak anything. They never hid anything from Elsa, and now her first-born was hiding something from them. She realized with a pang of guilt that this is how Anna must feel every moment she is essentially told that she can't know why of some things, her sister's isolation being on top of the list.

They drifted to sleep at this position, Agdar hugging Idun. He didn't say, but it also pained him to see Elsa hide something from them, even if he understood more her reasons. But since he was the one used to conceal his emotions most of his life, it was hard to show he was troubled to his wife, even if showing meant easing her pain. Besides, she needed someone to support her, and he had to be that someone. Idun made no mystery how the isolation deeply affected her, and Agdar always tried his best to give her hope.

007

007

Meanwhile, Elsa went earlier than the usual to the tower. She still took the secret passageway so she wouldn't bump into her mother or Anna. Especially considering this time of the year Anna was bound to roam the Castle restlessly since their parents had little time to spend with her. There was also the fact that it was likely that Anna would be with Gerda drinking hot chocolate, so her mother told her.

Elsa smiled remembering one memory. She recalled the times before the isolation that Anna would sneak up in the kitchen with her to drink hot chocolate. Or just eat chocolate at all. It was an addiction her mother had and passed down to both her daughters. They had never been caught doing this, but her mother and Gerda knew the sisters were the ones responsible for the sudden mess in the kitchen when the chef arrived in the morning.

Her smile immediately vanished when, involuntarily, the memory shifted to that day 3 years ago. Everyone was hoping that the improvements she had meant she would come out of her isolation. Even she started believing in that, until her powers had an outburst when both her parents were in her room. Since them, it was pretty much like the first months of the isolation if not worse.

She picked up her pace. For some odd reason she didn't dwell into any bad memories when was hearing that boy's story. She noticed the small corridors were colder than the usual, probably because the memories triggered her powers. She tried breathing deeply to keep them contained, and moved her hands to feel the fabric of the gloves. Even though during some outburst she had been wearing them Elsa still felt somewhat reassured whenever she felt the tight material concealing her bare hands.

She was actually glad that he didn't notice the changes in the temperature. Sure, they didn't get as cold as when she's upset or in fear, but she noticed the subtle drops. If anything, hearing more of his story might ease up her mind. She didn't dare to hope, as the last time she hoped for something only ended up in disappointment.

007

When she arrived at the tower, slightly panting as she unconsciously was half running, half walking, she noticed it was empty. For a moment she panicked, fearing the boy left, or decided to explore the castle. The temperature dropped drastically, and she forced herself to even her breaths and calm herself, as her mantra played in her head. 'Conceal, don't feel. Conceal, don't feel.'

She sat once satisfied that she sort of managed to control her powers, and decided to wait awhile to see if he would appear again. He had told her he would be around, and Elsa refused to believe that he had left. A part of her suggested that he had gone to the forest nearby, afraid that, despite her claim, someone could stumble at the tower and find him.

007

007

Hiccup had, as soon as the night came, taken Toothless to fly. The dragon was hungry, and so was he, so they went fishing as soon as they were in the air. He decided to drop at the forest and make a small camp fire to eat before returning to the tower. Windwalker certainly liked the company, and since he couldn't go to the tower, as there was always the risk Elsa could suddenly appear, he rested in the woods.

After landing back at the tower, his gaze fell on the sitting princess as soon as he hopped off from the saddle. He blushed from embarrassment once he realized that he left the girl waiting. Because of this, and Elsa's apparently mad face, he decided to explain himself. "Hi," he said shyly, averting her gaze while rubbing the back of his neck.

"I…" he tried speaking, but it was like his tongue wasn't working. He cleared his throat before trying again. "I-I'm sorry we kept you waiting." He paused, trying to calm himself a little. 'Great, first day and you already messed up.' He thought bitterly.

"He wanted to go flying…" Toothless huffed indignantly at being blamed. Hiccup spoke up, though, before the dragon would smack him. "And we were hungry. He fished for us and we ate in the forest. I figured making a campfire here wouldn't be a good idea." He closed his eyes, waiting to hear the all too common 'you messed up' he was used to.

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_**Because our Hiccup isn't our Hiccup without making a mistake.**_

_**Also, I'm looking for Frozen fics to read, HTTYD and crossovers too. If any of you know one that you think I'd like, do feel free to leave their name, with the author's too if possible, on a PM or review.**_

_**Until next time... which I don't know when it'll be. Probably somewhere near the end of July**_


	15. Different lives, Similar Fears

**_AN: Hello friends, I'm back at the end of July as promised. Unfortunately I won't be updating this story once per week as I'm doing with my HTTYD one. That may change later this year, but for now, it'll have to be every two or three weeks._**

**_Anyway, onto the review response:_**

**_Zyonzilla: You'll see where Windwalker is in this chapter._**

**_Vahn N. Chrome: Err, didn't do well in some uni tests, which I'm sure it'll be a pain in my behind for the rest of the year, but, life goes on. And yes, I have heard of How To Let It Go. I find it quite intriguing too :P By the way most of those fics I've read, but thanks for the suggestions. There were a handful ones there that I had not looked before._**

**_The-real-dragon-rider: I am the one who should thank you for writing a great crossover. Sadly this fandom has very few good crossovers. I'm very happy that, not only yours is a good one, but also that one of my followers writes for this fandom too. ABout Elsa's parents, since this is a fic centered on her and Hiccup, I think that giving the spotlight to her parents every once in a while makes sense. They do are a big part of her life._**

**_SpicedGold: Always warms me up when I see through your review that your enjoying their interaction so much. Indeed, they have similar fears, unbeknowst to one another, and it is why I find so interesting writing them. They are, in a way, very similar to one another in the situation HTLIG set them. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_**

**_Noctus Fury: Ah pal, always refreshing to read your words. Could you pinpoint where I used the words costumes? I don't really remember using it. For the Frozen-HTTYD I looked at all of those that I haven't already read, so thanks fot the suggestions. For HTTYD-Brave ones I still need to look, since I don't often dwell on this fandom (maybe I should, who knows?), and for the HTTYD ones, some I have read, some I have not. Be sure I'll look at those I haven't. ANd lastly, I wouldn't mind more suggestions, they are always welcome. I do was a bit upset you didn't suggest or say anything of HTLIG on this review, as you usually do._**

**_Without further ado:_**

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Elsa was mad at him since the moment he arrived. But, the feeling quickly turned to shame once she heard his apology. She resisted the urge to facepalm, as she forgot the fact that they were two living things that needed to eat. She didn't even bring him some food today, so she had no excuses.

"It's okay…" she said, relieving the troubled boy when he noticed she wouldn't scold him. "I just hope no one saw you," she added. She didn't want to show how sad she had been at the idea that he had definitely left, hence why she didn't say anything about him leaving the tower again.

She didn't show it, as she used the Queenly voice she was learning. It wasn't as perfect as her mother's, but it could do on most of the occasions. Still, Hiccup read it in between the fear she had for he being discovered, which he also had. Fortunately, Toothless was a clever dragon, and only pushed him to go flying once the sky was pitch black, so no one would spot them. It helped that these days night was prevalent and the sunlight lasted short.

"We went flying after the sky darkened, and it's impossible to spot Toothless in the dark. Also we landed in a distant spot in the forest, so no need to worry about that," he reassured. In fact, they landed where Windwalker was hiding. The dragon chose a good spot, and he decided to discuss their plans there as there was no risk of being spotted. Not to mention that the dragon's ice could cover their fire, so no one would see a faint light in the distance. And in the morning the only trace from his ice was a puddle of water.

Elsa's worries were relieved a little. She took notice that, apparently, the boy was experienced in staying out of sight. "Well… would you like to continue your storytelling?" she asked, hopeful that his story would once again enthrall her. Even Anna's stories weren't as fascinating as his life story was, or maybe it was just the fact that she was hearing someone other than her sister tell her a story. Elsa didn't know, but also didn't care to find out the real reason.

Hiccup's little confidence vanished. He didn't expect at all that she would want to hear his story. He blushed a little at the attention and mumbled a response. "Y-yeah, if you really want to…" he answered a bit awkwardly.

He sat with Toothless lying behind his back, pretty much like they were the day before. He was about to continue his story from where they stopped the day before when she interrupted him. "Sorry, but… do you mind if I ask a question?" she said a bit shyly, slightly embarrassed that she interrupted him. Still, the need to know the answer was bigger than what she could resist, and her curiosity had finally got the upper hand on her common sense.

He had opened his mouth, and closed when interrupted. He decided to comply since the girl barely spoke the past day. "No, I guess I don't mind. What you would like to ask?" he said softly, albeit a bit worried of what would be her question. She had barely spoken the day before, so it was surprising to Hiccup to hear that she wanted to ask him something.

"What about your mother? You didn't say anything about her yesterday…" She regretted asking that right after she saw the crestfallen look on his face. She should have known he didn't say anything for a reason, and cursed her curiosity that moment. Her common sense had been right after all. "I'm sorry, it was foolish of me to ask," she tried to amend, her tone slightly evidencing the shame she was feeling.

Hiccup couldn't help but be a little sad at the question. Of course he should have foreseen this since he only spoke of his father. Still, he didn't blame the princess or her curiosity. With a small smile, he tried to stop her from feeling guilty. "It's okay. I'll tell you, is just that it is a little complicated…" he spoke after hearing the princess trying to dismiss her question.

"Oh…" was all she could say. She was surprised he wasn't angry or anything that she entered a touchy subject, especially since the only thing he knew about her was that she was a princess and the daughter of the King consequently. Either he expected her to speak about herself after he would be finished with his story, or he didn't mind telling his story at all. Elsa didn't know which was the truth, but knew she would find out eventually.

"I don't know all the details, but…" he paused, thinking how he would explain it. "She was gone when I was just a baby…" he spoke, stuttering slightly as he was at a loss at how to put in words what happened.

Elsa was about to speak some words of comfort when he held his hand up, signaling there was more to hear. She gave him a subtle nod, indicating to continue. "From what I heard, when I was only a year old, there was this big raid. Some said there were dragon breeds never seen before. The four winged one I mentioned was one of those for example," he began explaining.

"One of those breeds broke into my house, and my mother went there to protect me. Nobody knows what happened, and dad wouldn't say anything. But what I know is that the dragon left the house carrying her in his paws. It was weird since she was the only Viking taken that night."

He chuckled, as if amused, while Elsa was a bit horrified that he found something funny in this situation. His chuckles didn't last long though. "People believed she died drowning in the ocean, was eaten or something like that. Even I did when I found out what happened. But after meeting him," he pointed to Toothless, "I started to doubt that. If dragons did always go for the kill as they said, why would one carry her away?"

"And… that was the only time a dragon ever took a Viking during a raid." He said that part thoughtful.

Her horror disappeared. She could see why he chuckled. Something about the tale didn't fit, looking at their perspective about dragons. "Do you think she's alive?" she asked before she could stop herself. It was possible; if every dragon was really human-like then his mother could have survived. It still unsettled her to think of the idea of being carried away by a creature that you passed your entire life believing that it always would go for the kill.

Hiccup scratched his chin as if thinking about the answer. "Well… Now I do. If she befriended a dragon like I did then it is very likely she is still alive. I don't know why she wouldn't come back after all those years though…" He paused for a moment, "Perhaps for the same reason I ran away," He mumbled, thinking that if she had really lived and befriended a dragon it would have been too risky to come back. The village would have probably cast her out and killed the dragon she befriended.

It had been one of the reasons Hiccup left: he wouldn't be able to bear the burden of seeing his friend being killed like an animal.

He only noticed his mistake when Elsa asked: "You ran away?" a mix of surprise and suspicious in her voice.

He facepalmed. "Oh boy… too ahead of the story," he muttered. She didn't know if it was to himself or to her. "Well, I did. I'll give you more details when we reach that part, but summing it up, I did because sooner or later Toothless would be found, and I couldn't risk getting my only friend hurt," he spoke, giving enough information so the princess wouldn't feel threatened.

She was satisfied with his answer, as it seemed that there were more reasons than just this, but eventually she would know as he progressed with his story. "I see…" she said. Hiccup understood that she wouldn't press on, as she would wait to hear it. A thought came to her. "Wait… Was Toothless the only friend you had there?" she asked to know if she misunderstood anything he said. Elsa was pretty sure she heard him say 'my only friend' seconds ago.

Sadly, she didn't. "Well… You could say that." He gave a long sigh. "I mean my mentor Gobber was sort of a friend to me, although more like a father figure. I had two friends until I was 6. Fishlegs got distant, but sometimes we would read if we were alone in the Hall. He is kind of a bookworm. Sure I like to read, but he was a little bit insane with the whole thing," he said, chuckling slightly at the memories of Fishlegs reciting from memory the whole Book of Dragons.

"I understand…" he gave her a puzzled look. "I mean, perhaps not as much like him but I myself like reading quite a lot," 'since it is one of the few things you can do when locked in your room' a sad voice added in her head. The smile she had after he told her he liked reading disappeared as her usual life came back to her mind.

Although Hiccup was still sheepish of looking into Elsa, in fear that he would blush at the sight, he looked at her just in time. He saw she was having an internal struggle, despite trying not to show. Maybe because he used to have lots of these every time he was called Useless he found easy to spot on others. So he decided to continue his story; it would hopefully be enough to distract her from whatever struggle she was having at the moment.

"And…" he said slowly, although with emphasis. Seeing Elsa snap out assured him he could proceed with his story. "There was also Astrid. We used to be very close until she lost her uncle because of a dragon. Then she began training hard and got distant, as she saw my clumsiness as a distraction." He finished with a longing sigh.

It was troubling. He had just won Astrid's friendship back to lose it again. It was his choice to leave, indeed, but circumstances didn't exactly help. For a brief moment Hiccup wondered what would have happened if he went to face the Nightmare. He recalled the warmth of her hug, or the heat on his face when she kissed her cheek. He wondered how she was, if she had to kill the Nightmare or how she was taking her now role as heir.

"I see…" Elsa said just so he wasn't met with silence. She hated not knowing what to say in these situations. She knew the feeling of losing a friend, but not a parent. "It seems your tribe lost many lives to dragon raids," she pointed out softly while trying to distract him. She could clearly see the longing, sad expression on his face, and felt sad as well.

Hiccup hummed in agreement, showing a sad expression. "Something is making the dragons steal our food. Toothless fishes once and is already set for the rest of the day, so, to me, it looks like the food they take isn't really for them. They take lots of sheeps and yaks. Its way above what a dragon normally eats," he pointed out, knowing she didn't know anything about dragon habits.

Elsa's interest peaked. For some reason, she wanted to know more about the creatures. "Do you know what it is?" she asked. She didn't know what could need so much food, and given the bigger it is the hungrier it also is, she couldn't imagine the size of whatever made the dragons steal food to eat.

"Sadly no… I left to think things over. Maybe someday I'll return to there and solve it. But even if I stopped the raids there does still is the issue of Vikings not trusting dragons and vice-versa," he mumbled, more to himself than to answer Elsa.

The idea of coming back seemed less appealing by the minute. He didn't notice the sad look Elsa had. "But I don't think it'll be anytime soon," he said, discussing with himself. He, again, missed Elsa's face light up a bit.

"Now that I'm thinking, I never quite told you how I shot him down, did I?" he mused. When Elsa shook her head, he decided to explain. "So, I told you of Gobber, who was a mentor and like a father to me. He is my father's best friend, and the village's blacksmith. I became his apprentice when I was very young," he summed up.

"As I got older, and he finished teaching me everything he knew, I started to use my knowledge to built weapons to kill dragons. One day, I built a weapon that would shot a bola, since I can't throw one. It was the only one that worked without directly destroying the village," he said sadly. It was funny; the only time he was successful he ended up scarring his friend for life.

Then again, if he had failed, he would still be trying to kill dragons by now.

She saw the weird change in his mood and decided to ask about it. She thought it would have something to do with the idea that he killed one. 'The boy seemed to be determined on killing a dragon, so what made him change?' The question was ringing inside her head. "Shouldn't you be happy that it worked?" she pointed out-asked.

Hiccup frowned a little, but he understood the question. "Yeah… you and everyone else would think that. It worked on him…" he pointed to Toothless. Her expression softened, but before she could say anything, he added in. "It's not the fact that I shot him down. Let me continue telling you my story and you'll see why," he added, a lingering guilt holding onto his voice.

Toothless gave up on getting Hiccup to understand that he didn't mind losing a tail to know him. He understood it was a burden his hatchling would always carry, no matter how much comfort he gave him.

Hiccup did think of if he should tell her about Toothless inability to fly alone. She didn't report him so far, as there were no guards trying to kill them or drive them off until now. He decided to keep Windwalker as a secret, in case something goes wrong. He would keep at least for awhile. Maybe in the future if he fully trusted her, and she was comfortable enough with Toothless, he could show the other Fury.

"So…" he began his storytelling, "Later that day, after I returned from my little meeting with him, dad made me agree to join Dragon Training. To learn how to…" he got on his feet and switched to his father's voice. "Stop being all of this," he gestured to himself the same way his father did.

Elsa gave him a sympathetic look. From what she understood, Hiccup's nature was a risk to his village. And thus his father as chief wanted him to conceal his true self so no harm would come to others. It was almost ironic how she found herself similar in a way with Hiccup, although her father was very different from his, according to his story. Her father was understanding and was supporting, while his sadly wasn't.

But, she couldn't deny seeing similarities between her father, and Hiccup's.

"So I begrudgingly complied, before he went out to search the nest. The next day we face our first dragon and I got in trouble, as usual," he said sarcastically. "Fortunately Gobber was there to prevent me from being crisped like a chicken," he added, sarcastically again, earning a glare from Toothless.

He didn't know the hatchling was almost burned by the Gronckle, otherwise he would have taught the flying rock a lesson before leaving that island.

"But," he drew a finger up, as if what he was going to say was very important. Elsa was feeling a little sleepy since it had passed a couple of hours, and jerked awake at the sudden emphasis. She was still paying attention to his story, but a few times she felt the drowsiness winning inside her. "Before he left the Arena, he told me: a dragon will always, always go for the kill," he said, imitating his former friend's voice.

"And that made my curiosity peek. Because the simple fact that I was there after freeing Toothless showed this was not true. And then I did what many would consider a death wish back there: I went looking out for a dragon, a Night Fury no less," he spoke as if it was an epic tale of adventure. Toothless huffed with pride at how he was mentioned, much like he did yesterday.

Hiccup laughed at the antic. "Yeah, yeah, be proud of yourself overgrown salamander," he said poking the dragon's face. Toothless, in return, snorted and laid his head facing the wall, his back turned to his rider. Hiccup, of course, continued laughing and teasing his dragon. "Oh you're pouting big baby boo," he said, leaning his face very close to his dragon's face.

…until Toothless used his tail to trip him down. Elsa's small laugh was cut short at the sudden move, before starting again, a little louder than before. Before Hiccup could even sit, Toothless pinned him down using his head, just like he did on the day before. Elsa found oddly familiar the scene, before her eyes widened as she realized what the dragon would do next.

They both stared at each other before Hiccup's eyes widened, as he came to the same conclusion the princess did. "Oooooh, no no no no no, we have a princess here," he pointed to Elsa, who was laughing, in a Queenly way, at the interaction.

"Don't even think-" Hiccup was cut short by innumerous licks. Toothless spared no saliva and made sure every inch of Hiccup's face was covered with it. A Night Fury's pride was not something to be toyed with, and his hatchling deserved a punishment for doing so.

Once Toothless was finished, he got up, freeing Hiccup in the process, and gave a nod, as if satisfied with his work. Hiccup was annoyed, mumbling things like 'useless lizard' and 'big scaled baby' and 'slobbering dragon' before he tried to clean himself. The grim and annoyed look he had on his face only made Elsa laugh more.

When he turned to see Elsa still laughing he shook his head, although he couldn't deny feeling good. It was probably the first time a girl at him laughed without being mean. "I see my demise amuses you greatly," he spoke sardonically, although lightheartedly.

Elsa's laugh slowed down as she evened her breathing, but her smile didn't falter. Her face was flushed, mostly because of the lack of air and also because a little blush crept as she heard his sarcastic remark. For a second she had thought he was a bit angry, before recognizing the sarcasm. "It's just that…" she took a breath to continue speaking "You two act like you're brothers. Like Anna and I used to do…" she commented sadly. In a flash of light her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, as she realized what she just told him.

Hiccup was… confused, for lack of better words, at her reaction. He didn't find anything out of the ordinary the princess having a sister. "Well that's cool. I never had a sibling, probably because my mother was gone before her and dad…" he blushed, realizing what he just insinuated, though Elsa was too worried at the fact she just told him of Anna to hear him.

He awkwardly cleared his throat and steered away from what he was saying before, "What do you girls do together?" he spoke with sheer curiosity. Sometimes he wished Toothless was his brother, since the dragon was always there for him since they became friends.

Elsa turned away, eyes shut. The memories came back to her with full force and the temperature dropped. Hiccup, being all in leather to withstand colder temperatures, did notice, but thought that it was caused by a cold wind. Nights were usually cold in Berk, and he had noticed that in Arendelle it was somewhat similar.

Toothless, however, did notice the unnatural source of cold, and a dragon far away gazing at the tower did too. Since Windwalker didn't sense any alarming reaction that would show they were in danger, he continued hidden in the forest, although more alarmed. Whoever it was in the tower could control an element, and he found it very unsettling.

"I don't want to talk about that…" she whispered. She was hugging herself, while playing the mantra in her head. Hiccup sat silently, observing Elsa with a shamed gaze. Once she had enough controls over her abilities she looked at him again. She sighed, feeling a little ashamed of herself. It was not his fault, and she shouldn't have shut him out, even if it was only for a moment. "I'm sorry-" she was interrupted by Hiccup's voice.

"Don't be. Please," he said and added when she looked at him as if not buying what he was telling her. "It's a touchy subject, I can tell. You don't have to tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable. If anything I'm the one who should apologize. I was just curious," he spoke softly, giving her a warm smile.

Her shame didn't go away. If possibly, it only increased. "But… you're telling me everything about yourself. It's only fair you know something about me," she protested, not wanting Hiccup to blame himself for her sadness.

In fact, she was a bit conflicted. A part of her wanted to feel relieved that he wouldn't press on, and another would protest that he didn't. She couldn't understand how he was so willing of sharing his story without hoping to hear hers in return.

"I know," his soft tone never leaving his words, "But I'm willing to tell you about me. You didn't seem willing to speak about it." He didn't mention directly her sister, as he didn't want to upset Elsa again, but Elsa understood what he meant by 'it'.

"Even about your mother?" she asked, still a little ashamed.

Hiccup sighed. The girl meant well, but he noticed she could be quite persistent. "Yeah, even about her." His tone wasn't annoyed, or harsh. It was soft but also firm. Elsa recalled her father using that tone whenever she felt afraid or sad. "It made me think things over. Things I wouldn't think otherwise. Like the possibility that she's alive and that she's out there riding the back of a dragon," he explained, trying to unburden Elsa of her guilt of not sharing her story.

Elsa looked into his eyes, full of understanding. She thought of her father, how he was selfless and caring, things she always admired, and saw those same qualities on the boy. "How are you so forgiving?" she asked somewhat amazed, and more to herself than to him.

Hiccup, however, heard her question and decided to answer it, even though he noticed that, by the tone, she wasn't expecting an answer.

"Well…" he was about to answer when a noise interrupted him. A yawn, coming from an apparently tired princess, who was covering her mouth with her hands, while her cheeks were blushing a little in embarrassment. He quickly corrected what he would say. "Why don't you come tomorrow to hear it? You should go sleep. I can see that you're tired," he suggested

In fact he was right. But Elsa didn't feel like sleeping. Sometimes she could be as bullheaded as Anna, though most of the times she paled in comparison to her sister. She was about to argue when another yawn escaped her mouth, further proving Hiccup's suggestion to be a good one. Feeling even more embarrassed, she eventually complied, not wanting to feel even more embarrassed. "I think you're right… goodnight Hiccup," she said while leaving the tower.

"Goodnight Elsa," he said to her retreating form. If she heard it, she didn't show. Perhaps she didn't hear since she looked very tired. Hiccup leaned on Toothless' back and sighed in concern. His dragon cooed, sensing his rider's distress.

"I know Toothless, but I can't stop it. Something happened between them. I can see how sometimes she speaks as if she understands me way too much. The only one I've seen do this was Windwalker, and we both know why," he said, recalling the origins of Windwalker's hatred for Vikings.

Toothless huffed in protest. "I know you understand me, but you probably never lived shut out like me or him. And it does look like she seems to live like that as well, or lived at least," he explained before closing his eyes and passing a hand through his hair. He sighed, slightly saddened and troubled as he thought of Elsa.

"I wish I could help her, but she seems to be so closed off from me. And I have the feeling she does that not only with me. I won't force her out, since she probably doesn't trust me enough for that. I don't fully trust her either, that's why she doesn't know about Windwalker," he explained to his dragon with a sad tone. To Toothless it was clear that Hiccup wanted to fully trust her, but the situation deemed this, so far, improbable of happening.

Toothless cooed to comfort him, before wrapping his wing around his rider. Although south from Berk, Arendelle was still quite cold at night, and even more during the winter. Hiccup smiled at the gesture and was thankful for having a friend as loyal as Toothless. He mentally bid goodnight to his dragon and Windwalker before they soon drifted off.


	16. Not So Different After All

_**AN: Hello my fellow readers. As you all know I managed to buy a new notebook for me, so updates should resume their previous schedule without any issues. I'll be deleting both ANs so they don`t cause any confusion. I was supposed to publish this chapter on my birthday (this Monday), but due to some circunstances I am publishing it only now. I apologize for the needless wait you all had to have.**_

_**Anyay, here are the review responses:**_

**_Kilo8: Well, you no longer need to wait for an update. I managed to solve my issue (thankfully it was around my birthday, so I got eough money to buy a new computer. About that I actually hadn't thought of it, but it actually is a very nice idea. I'll write it down and see how I can put it in the story. Don't expect for it to appear anytime soon, though._**

**_the-real-dragon-rider: Well them, I'll let you keep wondering then. Just remember that the villain may not be as obvious as you may think._**

**_Noctus Fury: Well, I just noticed it. Another author pointed it out too. Don't know when I'll go back and fix those though. Yes I like very much the Idun-Elsa scenes too. I feel like most people put the spotlight on her relationship with her father, and leave Idun in the shadows. And thank you. Writing Elsa realistically is hard, and one of the reasons this story is a crossover is because I feel comfortable with writing Hiccup, so he was sort of a clutch for me to find the courage to write our future Snow Queen. And I'm glad that you like their interaction, since it is pretty much the core of this story. Lastly, yes, I like to think that they used to be friends, and other theories. If you have some that you think I haven't used, or don't know, please, feel free to talk about it._**

**_SpicedGold: Ah my dear, always a pleasure to see your username on my review list. Well, I only noticed it after I began HTLIG, and only a little before we met I had solid in my mind how they were alike in some aspects even though they have very different lifes and personalities. And yes, they'll become very close friends, as I have shown you. Am looking forward to see what do you think of this chapter :)_**

**_So, without further ado:_**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Elsa went to her room feeling like a mess. She felt almost ashamed at how forgiving he had been, and relieved that he didn't press on. She also felt a bit guilty that he spoke everything about him to her, and yet, when she closed off the moment he wanted to know something about her, and rightfully so, he didn't even mind; instead he was very understanding of her desire to keep her own story hidden.

Her mind was a buzz, thoughts coming and going frenetically, especially because he didn't seem angry at her at all, but more like he seemed understanding about her reluctance. She wondered if the fact that he had been an outcast on his village made him understand her hesitance, or if, dare she say so, he was simply kindhearted enough to respect her desire, even though she, more or less, had to tell him her story sooner or later. Another yawn escaped her lips, but this time she didn't bother in covering it. She decided that moment to think about those things on the next day and go to sleep.

When she reached her room Elsa didn't even bother to go to her table and lit a candle to draw, since that day she had had a better view of both him and the dragon, or even go to her vanity to braid her hair so it wouldn't be a mess when she awakes. She went directly to the wardrobe, and changed into her nightgown before dropping herself on the bed in a very un-Queenly way.

Her sleep wasn't as peaceful as the day before. Her dreams were a mess just like her head had been before she fell asleep. Mostly, her dreams were about him and the dragon, although most of them were nightmares, which mostly consisted of scenes of him lashing out at her because she shut him out, of him leaving, of her in his place when the dragon pounced at him. These nightmares plagued her mind throughout the night, making her uneasily shift on her bed.

Her last nightmare was of Toothless pouncing on her, ready to burn her with his flames, while Hiccup was lying on the ground, unconscious and shivering badly. She closed her eyes in the dream just before the flames reached her body. She awoke by jolting up, right after this scene played on her head, and noticed the layer of frost around her silk blanket. Her breathing was uneven, and despite the night being almost as cold as the North Mountain usually is, she was sweating.

She pinched the bridge of her nose while closing her eyes and sighed. She shouldn't bother about the frost on her bed since it was a result of her nightmare, but she did. She felt bad about it, not as bad as when she has an outburst, but bad nonetheless, because it reminds her of how, even when sleeping, her powers can be out of control. She breathed deeply in an attempt to even her breathing.

"It was just a dream… or nightmare more like it. None of it was real. He's not mad at you, he doesn't know of your powers, his dragon is a big softy standing right beside him and he is certainly not freezing to death," Elsa mumbled to herself as a way to calm her down. She hated how those dreams felt so real, since she already had to deal with the memories of her outburst, and the day she accidentally hit Anna.

Once the scenes stopped coming to her mind her shoulders relaxed. She sighed in relief, appreciating her evened breathing while slowly lying down again. Despite being afraid of sleeping again, only meet more nightmares, Elsa felt herself being slowly taken away to the land of dreams. She was feeling very tired, and figured it must have been the exhaustion of her last outburst added with the fact that she almost didn't sleep yesterday.

It didn't take longer than a minute for her to fall asleep again. Fortunately, this sleep was a dreamless one, meaning that the princess would be able to recover her energies. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth, and the snow around her blanket slowly thawed away as her body completely relaxed.

007

007

Elsa slowly awoke to meet this new day. The sun was shining on the sky, and the light hitting her floor illuminated the whole room. A sense of warmth irradiated from it despite almost no warmth coming from the sun these days. She absentminded discarded herself of the silk blanket, as it was feeling oddly heavy to her. She found out why after she rubbed the sleep off from her eyes.

The blanket was full of water stains, probably from the frost that she created yesterday. She groaned in frustration, figuring she would need to ask, indirectly, Gerda for a new bedding when she came with Elsa's breakfast. Still, Elsa didn't remember of the nightmare she had this night, so her day didn't begin somber.

She rose from her bed and stretched, enough so her lazy muscles would begin to work properly. She folded the wet blanket almost automatically, since, due to the isolation, she was used to make her bedding and changing it. She, unlike Anna, liked to keep her room clean and organized, more out of habit than of need.

Besides, the fact that she spent almost the whole time on her room since the isolation was barely a motivation to keep it clean. She did so because it was a habit she inherited from her father, as Agdar also liked to keep his things clean and organized, without having to rely on someone else to do so. Of course, this is expected of a King, but since he was young he had that habit, just like Elsa has.

That day she had no lessons to attend, so she settled on drawing. Her mother came to check her, but she dismissed the company saying 'she didn't sleep well and was tired'. If the Queen found odd the excuse she didn't show.

When night arrived, Elsa actually debated with herself if she should go see the boy or not. After minutes of pacing around and mumbling to herself she decided on going, since it would be unfair of her for not going, as the boy didn't do anything wrong.

007

The Queen passed all day on the library, not fully committed to her reading. She was even more confused at Elsa's behavior this day than she had been the day before. All the enthusiasm her daughter showed had suddenly vanished. Agdar that night suggested if it was her time of the month, but Idun quickly dismissed it.

She theorized that whatever made Elsa happy that night had gone, and thus her own enthusiasm vanished as well. They settled that since it was not anything too worrying, they wouldn't ask any questions.

007

When Elsa arrived she only whispered a greeting when Hiccup greeted her. Sensing that the princess was troubled, he decided to use a soft tone instead of his enthusiastic one. She also only gave a small nod when asked if she wanted to hear how he and Toothless became friends.

"So, I found him after searching in the woods. He was trapped inside a cove, and I couldn't understand why he wouldn't leave. He noticed me there, and we both stared at each other out of curiosity, which to me only proved once again that 'a dragon always goes for the kill' was not the truth."

"It was only when Gobber reunited us to tell his war stories that I realized why he didn't leave. He lost an arm and a leg in the raids." She looked at him horrified. "He had a peg leg and interchangeable tools replacing his lower arm. Even without two limbs he was one of our best fighters."

Elsa tried to picture the scene of losing a limb. Rarely, one of the ice harvesters would have a limb cut due to frostbite. But still, that was very different from losing one in combat.

"Try not to think about it. I was his apprentice when he lost his leg, so believe me when I tell you it is better not to think about that," he advised. Elsa followed his advice and relaxed when the images were gone, and she no longer felt nauseous.

"So, he was telling us about his stories when he said one thing that took my attention." He paused, and only when Elsa was giving his full attention to him that he progressed with the story.

"He said 'it's for the wings yeh must go. A downed dragon is a dead dragon'," he spoke in true Gobber fashion. "It was only then that I realized what happened. I had maimed one of his tailfins and, consequently, doomed him to die trapped in that cove."

Elsa gasped in surprise. Sure, she noticed he only mentioned the tailfin that moment, although he probably saw that when he looked at the dragon back at the Cove. Hiccup gazed to the ground feeling a bit shamed. The dragon cooed at him, as if telling him that he was forgiven.

Elsa understood too well what he was feeling. He had almost killed his best friend and, even though they weren't friends the moment he did it, he now carried a burden of his actions. Even if it meant it was what made possible they meet each other.

Still, if the dragon couldn't fly… "How come both of you are here if he couldn't fly?" She asked him.

Hiccup looked at her and grinned. He motioned to Toothless bring up his tail, and under the light of the moon, he showed it to her. "I decided to amend my mistake. So I built him an artificial tail," he pointed to the leather brown tail contrasting to the jet black one.

Elsa, again, gasped when she saw the tail. Too many things got her surprised: the craftsmanship of the prosthesis, as it mirrored perfectly the real tail, and also the meaning behind his gesture. She saw that he wasn't the only one forgiving. Toothless also forgave him for maiming his tail and apparently held no resentment about it.

"He forgave me when I won his trust, and I tried to amend my mistake. During our first tests I noticed he would need a rider to be able to fly again. Days passed as we tested it, improving his rig every time. I also learned more about dragons by passing most of my day with him, and used it on training."

"When I got better at it the teens stopped on picking me, and the village even began to praise me. When my dad returned from the nest," she assumed they didn't find, if his talk about going back to deal with it earlier was any indication, "he was very proud of me. It was actually the first time I've seen him proud…" he trailed off, remembering it.

Elsa was intrigued. "If everything was better, then why did you leave?" she asked with a small naivety in her question.

Hiccup sighed. He expected that question. "Well, it would be only a matter of time before someone found out about Toothless. I was also chosen to kill a dragon as a prize for being the best student, and coming on top of Dragon Training. So, as soon as I was named, I began planning my escape," he explained with a slightly sorrowful tone.

"I bought some maps from the trader that passes by sporadically on our island, then I convinced dad to name Astrid heir of the tribe, saying that she was respected, both as a leader and as a warrior. Which, to be honest, is quite true," he added.

"I left him a letter telling him that I would do a trip to 'gather more wisdom so I could become a worthy heir of Berk'," he recited. Elsa felt like protesting about that, since it was clear the boy was very clever, but his raised hand stopped her from doing so, as if he had been expecting her to do so.

"I know what you're going to say. You might think this is a joke, but they didn't. I became a good warrior in their eyes, but a leader's skill is not measured by his skills in combat," he told. Elsa nodded in understanding, since her father spoke something similar when talking about diplomacy: '_A kingdom with a formidable army is respectable; a kingdom with a formidable diplomacy is admirable'_.

"I went to the Forge to leave some part away gifts. I was planning on doing something for Gobber, Astrid and dad, although I eventually didn't do for him," he won a puzzled look from Elsa. He didn't look like he held any grudges, so why wouldn't he do anything for his father? The question travelled inside her head.

Almost if Hiccup read her mind he said. "I've made him a hammer once, using a new technique I had developed using what I read in some forging books I bought from Trader Johann. He didn't accept it…" he finished sadly. It still hurt him that his father denied his gift because of pride. That was another reason to why he left. Stoick's pride wouldn't let him be heard like always, but this time Toothless' safety would be at risk.

"Anyway…" he said while shaking his head. Once the memory was gone he proceeded. "I was doing their gifts when Astrid came to the forge and confronted me. After we had a little argument"-'which was anything but little' he added mentally,-"she ended up telling me she knew about Toothless."

"After I explained to her what my reasons were, and introduced her to Toothless, we amended our friendship. Sadly I departed a few moments after that," he finished explaining.

Elsa was amused at how many surprises the boy had in storage to show, or how some situations he lived through were strikingly similar to her, especially the last bit of his tale, as of now. "So, you're saying that everything that you wanted you won and had to give up shortly after?" she asked in utter shock, yet also sadly understanding how it felt.

Hiccup scratched his chin, thinking about it. "If you put it that way, then yeah, you could say that." he reasoned.

Something struck inside Elsa. It was much like her own situation three years ago. She had everything that she wanted, just for it to slip away from her grasp. Her powers were under control, she was speaking with Anna, she left the room sometimes, and she was closer to her mother and her father. And then that day happened, and everything she struggled to win was lost.

She decided to apologize to him. It was the least she could do. One day she could tell him her own story, since he does look like he is open minded. If befriending a dragon while living in a village full of dragon killers proved anything.

"Look Hiccup…" she took a sharp breath. "I'm sorry for my behavior yesterday." And this time she was the one to hold up a hand to ask for silence. "Please let me finish," she asked. Hiccup pouted a little but nodded. "I was wrong acting like that without giving you a reason… one day I'll tell you my story, but not for now. I hope you understand," she added the last part quietly.

"I see…" he said. The prospect of learning about her past, and what haunted her, was good to him. Since he didn't plan on going anywhere, he could await. Still, he wondered why such hesitation. Maybe… "Are you afraid of something…?" he inquired, sensing some fear coming from her. "You don't need to answer that if you don't feel like doing so," he added the last part when she clearly showed a frightened face.

Elsa bit her lips. Maybe it was because she was hugging herself that he figured it out. Or the look she had on her face. She nodded slowly before speaking. "I'm afraid of you will you react," she answered.

Hiccup felt confused. A million different thoughts ran through his mind at what horrible thing she could have done so she would be afraid of her reaction. "You do know I come from a dragon killing Viking village don't you?" he asked, wanting to subtly say he had seen some pretty nasty things.

Unfortunately Elsa nodded without hesitation, which worried him a little. "I do. Just promise me you'll have an open mind when I tell you." Hiccup nodded, since it was pretty much the only thing he could do.

Elsa's gaze fell again on the tailfin. She wondered how he built it if the dragon was not around so he could see the tail… "Hiccup? How did you build his tail?" she said, also changing the subject.

Hiccup furrowed his brows, noticing the not so subtle change, but didn't say anything. If he was to stay at the tower for a while, he might as well not press her into saying anything. Especially when she said she would eventually tell him. "Well. I first sketched him when I found him trapped. Then, when I decided to build the tail, I made some blueprints of how the tail would be, and then forged it based on those blueprints," he stated. Honestly he didn't see anything extraordinary on the process. It was much like every process on building something other than weapons.

"So that means you know how to draw?" Elsa asked. She was no fool. She noticed the precision used on the artificial tail. Being a good blacksmith wouldn't be enough. Since she loved geometry, she could tell that to build a tail like that, he would need very accurate blueprints of it. And since he did the blueprints…

Hiccup's confidence was thrown through the window the moment her words reached his ears. He definitely won more since his talk to Astrid, but still, he was a fifteen years old scrawny boy who was shadowed, for a decade, by both men and women from his tribe, and was having an actual conversation with a beautiful princess. His confidence was bound to leave at some moment.

"Y-yeah, I guess," he stammered, feeling awkward. No one ever wanted to see his sketches, so if was only natural that this kind of attention made him feel sheepish. He rubbed the back of his neck while averting his gaze.

Elsa smiled. The boy was definitely shy around girls. She liked how he spoke with confidence about his story, but also at how awkward he could get when she asked about any abilities he had. He was a humble person, this much she had figured, and she liked it. Both her parents were humble, even though they were the rulers.

She felt a little sheepish at what she would say. But since he was pretty much done telling his story to her, probably leaving out some part for her own mental safety, they wouldn't have anything else to discuss. And she wasn't ready to bring up her past, not yet. "Good. I also like to draw. Maybe we could show each other some drawings, don't you think?"

His eyes widened in surprise. He actually forgot for a moment how to talk. He could only imagine how her drawings were. And she wanted to compare with his and vice versa. This was something he never expected to do. He always drew to himself to occupy his mind, so it wasn't like he tried to make each sketch perfect, although he did like to pour some attention to each one.

When he regained control over his vocabulary he spoke, still not meeting her eyes. "Y-yeah, s-sure we could," he stammered. Elsa smiled, and was about to speak when Hiccup yawned.

She giggled a little at the irony. "It seems like someone here needs to rest," she playfully teased. Hiccup all but gave in, not even minding her little teasing, as he felt like he would sleep at any second. He leaned on Toothless, and opened his eyes just to bid her goodnight.

She also bid him and left shortly after that. She didn't feel exhausted as yesterday, but was still tired. Not to mention that sitting on the floor was quite uncomforting for her. That night Elsa slept soundly, although she had a couple of nightmares… some involving a brown haired boy with green eyes looking at her with horror as she revealed to him her powers. Weirdly, her dreams were constantly changing, so the nightmares ended up lasting little more than a couple of seconds. The same went for any good dreams she had.

007

007

Days passed, in which most of them Elsa would visit Hiccup at night. Since her new found knowledge about his drawings skills, she was ecstatic on having something in common to talk about. Sure, she liked to hear his story, and found many likenesses they shared, albeit from different situations, but it still wasn't something both could talk.

Well, if a couple of phrases a conversation can be considered a conversation. When they compared each other's sketches and drawings, Hiccup would be, most of the time, awed at her drawings, much to a slightly blushing Elsa contentment, and when he wasn't, he would be complimenting her drawings. Of course Elsa did the same with Hiccup's sketches, but her shy and closed nature would stop her from ranting about them like Hiccup did sometimes.

Elsa found that, when Hiccup wasn't acting like the shy insecure boy she found out he is inside, his curiosity and talking would remind her of Anna. Still, the comparison would last until he did a sarcastic remark, most of the times playful. This trail was unique to him, and something Elsa grew found, since it made her giggle most of the times.

Neither attempted to have any sort of physical contact, not even a handshake, though. Hiccup's shy nature would return every time he looked at Elsa for longer than a second, and her own shyness and fear of her powers kept her from giving the first step. She would great him with a wave, and he would reply with another.

007

Two weeks has passed since they started comparing their sketches. Agdar and Idun noticed the odd behavior their daughter was having, but didn't complain. Elsa's attention at the lessons brightened her mother's mood, and she was slowly opening up. While it was not common of her to start any sort of conversations, Idun's hope only flamed more every time Elsa started a conversation, no matter how brief it was. Both of them reached the conclusion that whatever the source of her change was, it was coming from the almost-daily visits on that tower.

They also agreed that, no matter how painful for them, especially Idun, they would have to wait until Elsa revealed to them what made her changed. Granted that it was a subtle change, but since the isolation began seen years before, no member of their family took anything from granted. Especially after Elsa shut out all kind of physical contact with her parents after her power outburst three years prior.

One night, Elsa reached the tower and saw what she would consider one of the funniest scenes she has ever seen. Both Toothless and Hiccup were soundly asleep, but lying down in very funny poses. Toothless was lying on his back, his paws hanging in the air like a puppy, and Hiccup was asleep in his belly, all thrown out. She observed the scene for a few seconds, capturing all the details that she would definitely put on a drawing later that night, before disrupting it.

She gave a fake cough, but neither stirred up. She decided to call for him. "Hiccup?" she called, in her normal tone, which was a little low when compared to the usual. The boy stirred, but stood stubbornly asleep. She sighed, a bit annoyed, and increased her volume slightly, since it was too foreign to her shout. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup awoke startled. Even though the tone she used wasn't higher than the one he usually uses when speaking to her, it was unexpected nonetheless. His jerking made him fall face-planted on the floor. He heard a faint laughing, and turned very confused to look at the princess standing before him.

"Oh man…" he mumbled, gripping slightly the side of his head that happily encountered the floor. As he was half-asleep, he didn't register much of his surroundings, except for the princess.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her confused. When she stopped giggling and returned a confused look to him, his surroundings became clearer. He turned to look at the window and gasped when he saw it was night. "Wow, night already? I guess I overslept," he commented to himself.

Toothless had awakened with Hiccup's fall, and crooned in agreement with his rider's statement, also confused at how it was already night. Elsa, meanwhile, was completely lost. "So, would you tell me why all the fuss?" she asked, vaguely gesturing to them and feeling slightly embarrassed that she brought them out of their sleep.

Hiccup turned to look at her to explain. "Well, I didn't have anything more to sketch on my journal, so Toothless and I decided to do some wrestling. We played until we both ended up tired and I guess we just fell asleep. I didn't think we would sleep through most of the day…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck while a little embarrassed. He didn't even want to think how he looked like sleeping, although he wished the princess didn't see anything embarrassing.

"I see…" Elsa said, a little thoughtful. Since they pretty much compared every drawing and sketch both had, there wasn't much else to do. "Well… you told me your story, but not much about you…" she mused, happy as she found a new subject.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was anything but happy. In fact, he was shocked. Of course, old habits die hard, so it was a bit difficult to wrap his mind around the idea. "A-about me?" he stuttered nervously but also surprised.

"Yes, is there anything wrong about it?" Elsa asked, although a bit too innocent. She liked Hiccup's shyness because it made her feel somewhat normal. It drifted her mind away from her powers, and everything associated with them.

"Well… No, I guess…" Hiccup mumbled thoughtful. "What would you like to know about me?" he asked, feeling completely at a loss about what should he speak.

"Well, how about we start with what you liked to do on Berk. You said you used to work in a forge back there…" she pointed out this fact as a push to encourage him to talk.

"Well… yeah, I've spent almost a decade working there…"–'and the subtle nudge apparently worked' Elsa thought amusedly-"After my apprenticeship finished I became an assistant to Gobber. We would usually make swords, axes and sharpen them most of the times. During the raids I would usually help him fix the broken weapons, mostly heating them while he mended those. Of course when I was not out testing a new contraption I built."

Elsa listened, carefully to his talking. Hearing him made her feel at ease. Sometimes, when discussing literature with her mother she also felt that, although not for long. The explanation Elsa found for this was that these secret meetings were like an escape from her isolation, a part of her life unaffected by her powers. He didn't expect anything from her and had only made her uncomfortable once, and it had been accidentally. Her mind drifted astray, trying to imagine all the scenarios that he spoke of as he regarded his life.

"Well, I also spent a good portion of my time designing new contraptions, or improving my own designs. It was mainly because of these things that I know how to, as you say, flawlessly draw," he playfully teased, earning a smile from Elsa. "I also used my perk of knowing how to read so I could get some books with Johann to improve my forging," he added.

"Wait." Elsa interrupted. "So, you like to read?" she asked, with a tad hint of hope in her question. Perhaps this was another subject they had in common. Elsa herself fancied reading a lot, ever since her mother read to her poetry. Although she doubted there was such a thing in his tribe, he could also enjoy it if presented with the idea.

"Well, you could say so" he answered a bit uncertain. "Not like Fishlegs, who memorized the Book of Dragons after reading it seven times, but yeah, sometimes I used to grab a book and read. That is, when there was a book to read. Since it's not something Vikings do often, and because of the dragons, we only had few books on Berk, and most of them were with Fishlegs. The majority of the books I read I got with Johann," he explained.

Elsa nodded in understanding. She deduced the subjects that he read must have been limited, especially since his main goal on reading books was to improve forging techniques. Maybe… "Well, the castle possesses a huge library. I could bring some of the books, so you could see if you fancy anything. It would also help you with your boredom problem," she said while gesturing for both human and dragon.

Hiccup's face turned scarlet at the mention of the situation they were when she arrived. Still, his mind thought about what she said. "Yeah, it would be nice. Most of the things I read were about forging, so it could be nice to read about other things…" he pondered, scratching his chin.

Elsa smiled at his acceptance about the idea. Given the broad arrange of books the castle library had, she guessed they could spend many days talking about those, that is, if he likes any of them. It would allow herself to be comfortable enough around him to talk about her story, and her powers. She had no doubts that he wanted to know, but was grateful that he was patient and respectful to wait until she decided to speak.

Hiccup saw this idea with a similar interest. He picked from Elsa's enthusiasm that she must like reading a lot, though about what he was sure he would discover on the following days. It would also allow him to see if she was comfortable enough to be introduced to Windwalker. It's true that she had won his trust in between those two weeks they have known each other, but not once she came close to him. The closest she came was to lend him a drawing she did or grab one of his sketches. They had yet to share even a handshake, let alone any other kind of physical contact, like a pat on the shoulder.


	17. Lay Your World On Me

_**AN: Hello. First of all I'm terribly sorry for taking six weeks to update, instead of three. I have no apology to offer, except that I genuinely forgot to update, though I don't really know why, since, even though uni is being very demanding, I still found time to remember updating How To Become a Dragon Chief. Also, this chapter is rather short because I have not written the next one, and didn't want to wait until it could be my usual 5K words chapter to post. Uni big tests are coming soon, and they'll cover the whole year so I cannot guarantee that I'll be updating How To Let It Go by the second week of November. I haven't forgotten this story, and I have so many ideas for it, and even stretches written for it that just need linking, or some progression done, so don't think that this story is on hiatus. I know many stories in this small crossover fandom take forever to be updated, and many are left without being finished, so bear with me, please. I'll try to ease the wait, but I can't promise anything. I hope you all understand. I love you guys.**_

_**So... here are the review responses:**_

_**Vahn N. Chrome: If you thought last chapter was sad, you'll have an emotional breakdown with this one**_

_**the core of justice: I think I've seen your name somewhere. Aren't you cowriting a HTTYD fanfic with, I think it's NightShade his name, or something like that? Regarding your question she'll reveal him in due time, that may take a little while, and yes, as I said in my summary, this fic will eventually veer into the movie events, with its own twist, of course, and even continue a little after it**_

_**The-real-dragon-rider: Don't worr. I have planned a whole arc where the interactions between Hiccup, Toothless and WIndwalker will have an important part. Not to mention that they'll start appearing more in the story as it progresses. I can only ask you to be patient**_

_**Kilo8: You're welcome :) Your suggestion did sound very interesting, so I don't see why I wouldn't use it. And thank you for being patient, and understanding**_

_**SpicedGold: Try to keep it under 15, I'm not really writing sensual stuff :P And yes, they are, indeed becoming closer. And, as you have seen by the stretches I've sent you, they will keep growing closer, and trusting more each other**_

_**Noctus Fury: So long my friend, I forgot this is the only way that we have to talk. I seriously need your email if we are to have a better way to communicate. You can always find mine on my profile. Anyway, regarding your review, I will totally keep her parents on the scene. As you may have noticed they are, indeed, marked as the main characters of this story. As a matter of fact, this chapter heavily relies on a daughter-mother scene that I think that you will very much like. And, about his reaction, I can tell you that it'll be... different, so don't put much expectation in what you told me. Besides, her nightmare will be a recurring theme throughout the story, so while Hiccup will be present sometimes, he won't really heal them. And about Astrid? She's not gone. She still remembers his promise.**_

_**Without further ado:**_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

They spoke quite more, with Elsa hinting some subjects, and Hiccup answering which ones picked up his interest the most, since every suggestion Elsa gave peaked his interest. This way Elsa could have a starting point on what books to bring on the following days, instead of trying to bring the whole library.

After she had a list written in one of Hiccup's paper, Elsa decided to leave. "Well, I think I'll be going already…" she said.

Hiccup gave her a confused look. "Already going? You usually stay more here." His face quickly turned into one of concern. "Are you feeling ill or uneasy? Or was something I spoke?" he asked.

Elsa smiled at her friend's concern. 'Friend..? Well, I guess I could say he is my friend, not like how Anna and I were, or her and Marie, but a friend nonetheless' she mentally discussed when the word friend came up. She gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I'm alright, and you didn't say anything wrong." Her smile soon turned in a smirk. "I guess someone here likes my presence," she teased.

Hiccup, obviously, blushed hard at the teasing and stuttered incomprehensible words as a futile response. Elsa giggled a little at his antic, before raising her hand, thus ending Hiccup's panic. "I was just joking," she said smiling.

Hiccup's blushing face soon turned into a pout. "Glad to know my distress makes you happy, Your Highness," he said sardonically, although in a playful voice, as usual. Elsa just shook her head, smiling, while Hiccup's pout soon turned into another smile.

"But, seriously. I'm going because I'm feeling rather tired today," she explained. While not entirely a lie, she was mainly going earlier so she could sneak into the library and grab some books about the subjects he agreed that would mostly interest him. It would keep him occupied while she wasn't visiting him, not to mention that it would also give her subjects to talk about.

Talking, after all, became a quite difficult task for her to perform because of her isolation.

Hiccup sighed, for some reason he believed there was another motive besides this one. But, due to respect for her, he didn't voice it out. "It's okay; I guess Toothless will want to be flying in this lovely night." He patted the dragon before pointing out to the broken window, where a clear night could be seen.

Toothless jumped happily after hearing the word 'fly' spoken by Hiccup. He started nudging his rider while Hiccup was laughing, teasing his dragon. "Oh, you want to go flying don't you?" he teased. When Toothless' nudges increased, he teased again. "We will, just be patient big baby." Toothless stopped the nudges to look at Hiccup with indignation.

Elsa still stood sitting there, already getting used to sitting on the floor, watching dragon and rider act like brothers. It reminded her of how she liked to tease Anna when she was being chased by her around the castle corridors before the isolation…

Unfortunately, her smile vanished when those memories came back. With a sad sigh, she stood up and bid Hiccup goodnight, which happily replied and was too distracted with Toothless to notice her mood change.

007

Once she arrived at her room, she closed the hidden door and silently left through her door. She silently walked to the library. When she was approaching it, she heard music coming from one of the halls.

When she got closer to the hall, she recognized the sound coming from a piano. Wondering who would be playing this hour of the night, she silently entered the room. There she found her mother playing the piano. She remembered hearing her mother play before the isolation, when she and Anna would sit near the piano and hear her.

Although it had been years since she heard her mother play, as it had been only a handful of times she left the room in the last seven years, she recognized the song as one of her mother's favorites. She noticed how the Queen was too focused playing to hear Elsa small steps in the giant lonely hall.

She silently strode through the room and sat on one of the chairs. Had the Queen been slightly less focused, she would have noticed. Successfully sitting in silence, Elsa stood there, hearing her mother play. How long she didn't know, but she didn't care anyway…

007

Idun had gone to play the piano once her husband was asleep. She found out Elsa was, again, not in her room. She deduced that she was visiting the tower. A part of her urged to follow Elsa and find out what made her daughter mood get better these last few weeks. She resisted the urge to do so; afraid that doing so would break the little contact she had won with Elsa these days, not to mention her trust.

The thought that Elsa was hiding something for more than two weeks had been unbearable that night, and she had not wanted to wake Agdar to trouble him with this. Because of these reasons, she resorted to go play the piano, since most of the times the music cleared her mind of everything.

And that's how both were in this situation. Where Idun was playing the piano to ease her mind, unbeknown that the source of all her worries was sitting there hearing the beautiful song travelling through the lonely hall. A candlestick holding five lit candles, on top of the piano, was the only source of light. It had been enough so Elsa could go to the chair without bumping into anything, and for Idun to play the piano.

The piano itself was nothing uncommon. It was a grand piano, brown with golden lines running across the boards. The sides held paintings that resembled the tapestries found in the castle, showing that it was specifically ordered for the Royal family of Arendelle. It had been, after all, a gift from Agdar to Idun when he learned of her love for the instrument after they had married.

Minutes passed with both enwrapped by the songs. Elsa closed her eyes while hearing; only opening when the song was finished, so she could know whether her mother had stopped playing altogether or simply paused before beginning a new song. After all, Idun needed a few seconds to fully remember a new song and begin it.

When Idun finally finished playing, to her dismay, all that was troubling her came back. With all of that back inside her mind, a lone tear drifted off from her eyes, travelling through her cheek, and finally dropping from it and landing on her right hand. Seeing her mother's distress, Elsa decided to acknowledge her presence.

"It was beautiful mother," she said in the softest tone possible to not startle her mother. She did so anyway, as Idun jumped from her seat when she heard her daughter's voice. Whenever if her surprised was because someone was there with her, or because it was Elsa that there, Idun couldn't know.

"E-Elsa?" she asked, stammering in an un-Queenly way. She wiped her eyes with her left hand and didn't look Elsa in the eyes. She didn't want her daughter to see her in this miserable state. Elsa noticed the behavior and slowly went to her mother's side.

"Mama… Is everything all right?" Elsa asked very concerned. It was rare to see her mother distressed at all, and only made more painful to see her because of this.

She stiffened, and hesitated, before sighing in defeat. She didn't want to lie anymore, or hide things from her daughters, but Elsa had enough things to worry about. Her mother's distress shouldn't be another one. "Yes Elsa," Idun tried to say with an even voice, but failed. She closed the keyboard cover, as Elsa looked at her with uncertainty.

"Mama, you can trust me. Is everything really okay?" Elsa said with concern. Unconsciously she ended putting her left hand on Idun's shoulder. The shock that the Queen had with this action was enough to break down her emotional barriers.

"N-no dear, everything is not okay, sadly," she answered. When she felt Elsa's gloved her on her shoulder it was like this simple gesture broke down all of her facades that she built to protect Elsa from her internal pain. She hugged herself, unknowingly mimicking her daughter's behavior. It's true that she wanted to hug Elsa, but she was conscious enough that doing so could make things end up very badly.

"What happened?" Elsa asked in fear and concern. She was already conscious that her hand was in Idun's shoulder, and quickly removed it as she became frightened to what had left her mother distressed like that. She had only seen her mother miserable like this on one of her birthdays, when Father entered her room and took Anna away from her mother and her.

"I... it's just that… you've been getting better, you're actually starting a conversation with me sometimes. I was just shocked the first time you did that I replayed the scene in my head the rest of the day," Idun explained, a few silent tears leaving her face. Some were of happiness, as Elsa was improving from her isolation, and some her of sadness…

"And then suddenly your visits to that tower become more frequent, and I wish I knew what is there, what made you change," she said, leaning on the piano. It didn't pass more than a few seconds before her eyes widened and her hands flew into her mouth. She looked at Elsa; eyes wide with fear, almost mirroring her daughter's expression, except Elsa's hand weren't on her mouth.

"H-how did you know?" she asked fearfully. The hall became colder as fear grew inside her. The main reason she didn't tell her parents about her visits was because she was afraid of how would they react. Her fear of how they would react to finding out about Hiccup was even worse because she was sure that they would overreact.

Idun noticed the sudden cold, and cursed herself for speaking too much. She probably just broke the already thinned situation between her and her daughter. She decided to be direct, and try to mend the damage done despite the pain that her heart would feel for speaking of such situation.

"We've known for almost a year. The first few times I went to your room at night, and noticed you weren't there I searched the entire castle. Until one time I went there and I overheard you sobbing quietly…" she said in a soothing way. Elsa's fear slightly reduced, but remained present.

"I wanted to hug you so badly, but I knew you were afraid that you'd hurt us if we touched you. So I just returned to my room and told Agdar of what I found. After a couple of nights that I didn't see you in your room that I finally realized that you'd go there when your day had been bad…" she added with a sorrowful voice. Idun, every time she noticed that Elsa visited the tower, felt like she had failed as a parent, felt like she had failed her daughter.

Elsa just stood there in shock. She went there so no one, including her parents, would see her suffering or crying, yet going there only made the situation worse for her mother. She had yet to see her father to know how he was affected. "Why didn't you tell me you knew?" she asked, more ashamed than frustrated.

Thankfully Idun noticed that, and it allowed her to calm down a little. "I thought… We thought that telling you would make you think we were spying on you and that you wouldn't trust us anymore…" she said while averting looking at Elsa.

"Oh Mama…" Elsa said, "I went there exactly so you wouldn't see me crying. You knowing this kind of defeated this purpose…" she added with her eyes already bright on seeing how much misery she brought to her mother. Her mind already dwelled on how she was always hurting those that she loved and loved her, not only physically but emotionally as well…

"Oh Elsa… It's okay to cry sometimes. You've been through so much. There's nothing to be ashamed about crying sometimes. I'm just sad that something happened there that day you covered the desk in snow," – Elsa flinched remembering the memory, and took a step back from Idun - "And it changed your mood, and made you visit there almost every night," Idun added, breathing deeply so her voice would stop trembling.

"Please, don't think I'm sad because I can finally hope again of hugging you one day. I'm just sad that you don't trust us to know what made you change. Last time it was Marie…" both gave a moment of silence, since they didn't hear any news from Marie in a long time. France's situation was quite messy since 1830, so if any letters managed to arrive from there, it was from pure luck. Anna had been very lucky to receive a dozen letters from Marie the past month.

However, it was unlikely that Anna would ever hear from her friend any time soon.

"Mama…" she said painfully. She never wanted her mother to think that she didn't trust her, or Father. In fact, these were the two people she trusted the most. Elsa was just afraid… "I trust you, please do never doubt that. It's that…" She gave a deep breath, since it would probably hurt her mother to hear that, because it hurt her as well.

"I'm just afraid of how you and Father would react…" She looked at the end of the piano so she didn't see Idun's eyes looking at her, full of shock, shame and understanding. Idun felt like she was back at the first outburst of Elsa's powers all over again

"I'll tell you Mama. One day, when I'm more comfortable about it. But please, don't force me to tell you now…" she whispered the last part. Idun could easily have pressed on since it was clear that Elsa would say if she did so. But she didn't press, as she noticed her little revelation did enough damage.

"We'll wait. If you wish to tell us on your own time, then Agdar and I will wait until then," Idun said softly, easing Elsa in the process. The room grew warmer, although it still was colder than when Elsa was hearing the piano.

"Please, trust me Mother. I'll tell you… just, not now," Elsa reassured. Idun was no longer crying silently, and felt a bit more at ease. It still troubled her that Elsa was afraid of how they would act toward whatever was there.

Idun gave her daughter a smile, sensing that her first born was as troubled as she was. "I trust you my dear. It just that our family is so full of secrets that… that another one to bear just makes everything much more painful…" Idun said with a sigh while rubbing her foreheads. At this moment, the room had already returned to its natural temperature.

"I know Mama…" Elsa said. She would put her hand on her mother's shoulder to comfort her, but she was still afraid of doing so, after the whole situation.

Silence fell in the room, as mother and daughter stood there. Idun was massaging her forehead, feeling bad about what just transpired, while Elsa was hugging herself like she always do when feeling sad and alone.

Elsa decided to shift the subject, and break the uncomfortable silence. "It was really beautiful what you were playing," Elsa complimented. Idun looked at her for a second in shock, before a smile grew on her face.

"It was Beethoven my dear. Playing his songs always clear my head," she softly explained. Seldom was that she played the piano lately. She had enjoyed playing when Anna and Elsa were there to hear, but that stopped long ago. She occasionally played when her husband had time to hear, or when she needed to get distracted.

Usually the later.

"Do you think you could teach me how to play again?" Elsa asked. She had briefly started learning when she was five, until the isolation began and she had to obviously stop. Since she didn't leave her room, it made practically impossible to play it. She ended up trying to play a few times when she was leaving occasionally her room, before the first outburst, but gave up for fear that someone would find her because of the sound coming from the piano.

"Of course I can teach you my dear. But…" she hesitated to voice it out, since she considered possible that Elsa didn't think about it. "Doesn't that mean you'd need to leave your room?" she asked with uncertainty, since she was afraid that hoping would only end in disappointment again.

Elsa stopped to think. Her room was big, maybe big enough to fit a piano there… "Couldn't you and Father buy a piano to put in my room? I think it's big enough to fit one," she asked, fearing that she was wrong.

Idun's face fell a little, although she sort of expected that Elsa would think of a way to stay in her room. "I guess we could, but it would take two months so that the instrument maker could build one…" she said with a sad tone, thinking that she would have to wait two months to teach her daughter.

Elsa, sensing her mother's sadness, decided to take a risky approach. She took a liking with Hiccup and he never seemed to be in danger of her powers. Maybe she could try again with her mother… "I think we could come here and play before I visit the tower…" she said.

Shocked was an understatement to how Idun felt. A giant smile grew on her face hearing this words, and just as she instantly felt happy, it vanished. "Oh Elsa, you don't need to do this for me…" she said softly, thinking that her daughter was pushing herself to ease her mother.

Elsa sort of expected this reaction from her mother. So she only shook her head. "It's okay Mama. I'm already leaving the room to visit the tower therefore I'm not pushing myself." Idun's shoulders fell a little at the statement. "Besides, I want to…" Elsa added, smiling at her mother so she would be assured.

The Queen's mood lifted considerably. "Well, if it's okay to you…" she conceded, a smile also growing on her face. This time, the silence that fell between them was comforting.

However it didn't last long, as Idun suddenly yawned in a very un-Queeny way. Elsa giggled at the action. It was rare to see Idun outside her 'queen mode' even if it she was teaching Elsa.

"I guess someone should be going to sleep by now," Elsa teased, much like she did with Hiccup. Idun giggled, covering her mouth like a queen should do, at Elsa's playful tease, while also hiding her surprise. She couldn't remember ever hearing Elsa tease her, or even Anna. Idun nodded in agreement, while feeling the tiredness and the remains of her emotional distress creep on her bones.

"Goodnight mother," she said, unfolding her arms, which were hugging herself until this moment, to wave. Idun smiled and waved back at the retreating from leaving the room. Elsa didn't go to her room. Instead, she headed to the library to pick up the books she promised to Hiccup.

Idun didn't notice this after she left to head back to her room. She silently entered, feeling in a good mood. She slid inside the covers of her bed, wrapped an arm around Agdar and bid him goodnight before squeezing his arm. Within minutes, she was asleep. Unknown to her Agdar had been awaken and noticed the lighter mood his wife had. He didn't mind, as he was sure she would tell him in the morning, or the next night.

007

After half an hour, Elsa slid off the library caring half a dozen of books. She decided it would be enough, thus she couldn't get many books at once or else someone would notice them missing. Once she entered her room, she placed the books on her desk, and lit a candle.

She sat and took some paper and pencil to begin drawing. Initially she was only going to draw Hiccup and Toothless' funny pose, but now she decided to draw her mother playing this night, and show to her later. As a sort of apology to causing such distress all this time.

It was only two hours later when Elsa was satisfied with the sketches. Her eye lids were feeling heavy, and she thought that if she continued, she could end up messing the sketches. Setting them aside, she blew the candle, and went to change into her nightdress. She fell into the bed shortly after, feeling exhausted. The sleep didn't take longer than a minute to catch up with her that night.


	18. Note

_**AN: Hello people. Happy New Year and Merry Christmas (late). I'm leaving this note because, while I have progressed with this story, I am having trouble link my stretches to where I currently stopped here. If anyone would be so kind as to lend me a help, please review or send me a PM. Also, you can email me (I think my email is on my profile). I really only am an inch away from having lots of content for you all :)**_

_**Happy New Year**_


	19. A Friendship Begins

_**AN: Hello guys. Got this chapter ready, and have a few more detailed. Some of you answered my call for help, but, I am sad to inform that what I wrote here didn't come from anyone's suggestion. Still, I hope you enjoy.**_

_**I'll be answering here chapter 17's reviews before addressing any reviews left on my note.**_

_**Guest: That's a shame. Battlefield 4 is the closest thing to Bad Co 2 right now. Which is a good thing**_

_**Kilo8: I know, it's really a shame. there is a lot you could write by merging the two movies together, and now with the RTTE series on Netflix there is even more to work with. Still, I haven't forgotten about this story, nor I ever will. It's just that this one is not as easy to write as my HTTYD story was. Besides this, there will be many more scenes of Idun-Elsa **_

_**doctor of supreme awesomeness: I'm trying, but sometimes I hit some bumps along the road, which means some chapters might take awhile to come out**_

_**SpicedGold: He really is. I think his most endearing feature is that he always manage to bring the best from the friends he has. And with Elsa it would certainly not be any different.**_

_**thearizona: You gonna have to wait a good while pal. They aren't meeting until a good more chapters. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the little adventure these two have together.**_

_**Noctus Fury: heh, if you knew what I have planned, you wouldnt have such high hopes. And, to be fair, HTTYD does, kind of, goes that way too. Hiccup was motherless on HTTYD 1 and fatherless on HTTYD 2. I thought of letting them alive, but then the dynamic I ahve planned for HIccup-Elsa wouldn't really work. So, nope, still gonna kill them. But i'll make it more meaningful than the movie did.**_

_**Guest: I know you want that, but I'm not rushing things. If they have a realtionship, it needs to come naturally. The last thing Elsa is thinking is probably of a relationship. And remember, they still have to even shake hand.**_

_**KE12: I hope you enjoy the ride then**_

_**Guest: I would update faster if the readers helped me when I ask for help**_

**_LunarCatNinja: Told ya you wouldn't hate. Maybe you'll stick around? ^^_**

**_Note 'reviews':_**

**_orca3553: Thanks :)_**

**_Ke12: Well, to be fair I did say you could just send me an email, and I'd give what I had back then worked so far. I appreciate that you tried togive me suggestions, but, since your suggestion wasn't bad at all you could have given better ones if you had sent me an email. Still, thanks for trying._**

**_Without further ado:_**

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

Days passed as she visited the tower and played the piano. As it had been seven years since she played it, her mother had to, basically, teach again everything; although some of what she learned before came back to her. Elsa felt delighted every time she managed to progress on their lessons. She felt happier than she ever felt during their lessons, even the ones which they discussed Literature, their favorite subject.

Meanwhile her visits at the tower became slightly lengthier. Hiccup read with enthusiasm practically every book she brought to him, and that he could read. After all, it wasn't as if he could read books written in Latin. She soon found out Hiccup not only had a keen interest at romances and philosophy, but was a natural at those subjects as well. It meant that she finally had someone of her age to talk about what she learned.

Not just that but considering his origins, she finally had someone with a very different vision from the world to discuss the subjects she learned. At first, she thought that Hiccup would end up giving a rather lame discussing, but he proved her wrong, as he was quite insightful in what he read.

He also liked Poetry, though not with the same passion he had of the other two subjects. She soon was discussing with him the poems he read, even those she had already discussed with her mother. While it was fun to discuss, and even in sighting, as sometimes he gave a perspective that neither Elsa nor Idun had seen before, Elsa didn't feel quite complete discussing with him. Maybe because he didn't speak in rhymes like Elsa and her mother did when discussing.

Still, they could pass hours discussing a certain philosophy or philosopher, even to the extent where Hiccup would begin enthusiastically talking and only hours later notice that he did all the talking. The result would be a very embarrassed, very blushing Hiccup, with a giggling Elsa. Eventually both would calm down and turn to subjects more neutral to Hiccup's over enthusiasm.

007

Idun, meanwhile, noticed the changed in Elsa's mood as the days passed. She knew the girl was visiting the tower more often, but didn't know why. Still, she decided to not pry on, so she could enjoy Elsa's slightly lively mood. It was also the main reason she was only briefly talking of Elsa to Agdar. She knew he would question why she was leaving her room so much, which would probably scare her.

It brought her joy to see her firstborn more…alive. It made her feel hope that they would be together once again, and, as Elsa continued her secret piano lessons, Idun allowed her hope to be less restrained.

As Elsa kept visited the young boy she told bit and pieces of her to Hiccup every time she would visit him. She would tell him of a drawing she did, or something she told her mother during her lessons before they would discuss something he read. She didn't reveal much, but Hiccup didn't mind.

Seeing Elsa happily talk of herself was more than enough to make him happy.

It was in one of these times that Elsa was talking of herself that reality shocked her. "I've been playing the piano with Mother for a little while. I don't know much, but I can already play a song or two without sheets. Did you use to play an instrument?"

"Um…" Hiccup looked sheepish, which was cute to Elsa, who found this an odd feeling to feel. Queens to be didn't find things or people cute. However, it was also odd, since it wasn't exactly the kind of reaction she was expecting from him. "I never played an instrument."

This didn't shock her much. Not many people played instruments. Moreover, she didn't expect the Vikings of his homeland to play, not after hearing his stories. However, his next words shocked her to the core. "And…what's a piano?"

Despite her training, Elsa couldn't stop herself from letting her jaw open in shock. Hiccup started fidgeting while blushing heavily, which made Elsa snap out of her shock, blushing just as much as he was. Fortunately she recovered quicker than him. "You're telling me you never saw or heard of a piano?"

Hiccup hesitated, and Elsa knew it was because he was afraid of sounding stupid. "It's okay if you haven't. That won't change how I see and how I think of you. Just tell me the truth." Her words seemingly melted his hesitation because he shook his head, as an answer, only a second later.

A daring and bold idea surfaces on Elsa's mind. She hesitated, thinking deeply about it. There were many risks, some of which included her and some of which included him, not to mention some including them together. But, as she looked at his still reddish face, at his green, innocent eyes, she decided to take a shot at it.

After all, how could she call him friend if she never do something for him?

007

"Follow me, and, in no situation whatsoever, make any noise," she whispered as they tiptoed around the castle. Hiccup's boots were surprisingly quiet, though not as much as Elsa's slippers. The moon was bright that night, and the night was clear, which meant that they could easily navigate around the castle without a candle.

"We're almost there." Her heart was thumping fast, sounding as loud as a war drum. It was her boldest idea since the idea of training with her powers. It send adrenaline and excitement through her veins, and gave her a feeling of being alive she had not felt in a long while.

She stopped, making him stop just behind her. He wasn't too close, as he knew she didn't like physical interactions, nor liked having someone inside her personal area. She glanced around to see if there was anyone within her sight, and attentively listened for any footsteps.

When she was certain that there was no one near them, she quietly grabbed and turned the knob. The door opened without a creek, allowing them to go inside the room. She was already used to it, so she knew where the candle and the phosphorus were.

Swiftly, she lit the candle, closing the door before she led Hiccup to the piano. A candleholder, holding five candles, was located on the grand piano. She lit them all, which illuminated the room enough so that Hiccup could see the whole piano.

She heard him gasp, and turned around to find him looking at the instrument with a mesmerized look. He took slow steps toward it, stopping just a few inches away. His hands hovered over the finely crafted, white wood, as he took in all the ornaments and golden carvings it had.

"It's… it's beautiful Elsa," he whispered, his voice holding a tone of awe and amazement she had only heard Anna use when they used to play with her magic. Elsa smile, a genuine smile, at how happy the boy seemed.

She put the candleholder she had been holding on the piano, before sitting on its chair. "Wait until you hear it," she whispered, grinning. Her hands were shaking from excitement and self-consciousness. She had never played for anyone besides her mother, which mean that the idea of playing to him frightened her a little.

She breathed in deeply to slow down her fast beating heart. When she deemed herself calm enough, she started playing the song she knew, although on a slower pace than the recommended.

As she grew confident in playing it, she changed her pace to the music's, which was only slightly faster. She immersed herself in the song, briefly forgetting that Hiccup was there, the risks they were taking, and all regarding her isolation. All her mind did was enjoy the song.

When the song came to an end she felt alive. She had played it without a single mistake, which was an achievement considering she had only started to play the piano again a few weeks before. She turned around to look at Hiccup. "Well…?" she asked, slightly flushed.

Hiccup was frozen in amazement, so he took a moment to regain his senses so he could answer Elsa. "That… that was beautiful. I never heard anything as heavenly as this," he spoke, his voice dripping awe. "Thank you for playing to me Elsa. You really surprised me today."

She turned scarlet, and felt her face heat up. "Um…it's nothing. We're…friends after all," she said, stammering lightly. It was a funny sight, since Hiccup never heard her stutter before.

Their moment was short-lived, however, when they heard the knob turn. Elsa immediately paled, and hushed Hiccup to hide behind the couch. She hid with him, painfully aware of how close they were, and how un-lady like she was sitting.

"Hello? Is someone out here?" a voice called, which Elsa immediately recognized as her mother's. She signaled Hiccup to stay hidden with her hand, and prayed that it was bright enough for him to see. She inhaled deeply, and rose out of her hiding spot.

"Hi…mother," she whispered, ashamed of something unbeknownst to her. "I apologize for hiding from you. Had I known…"

"Hush my child," the Queen said with a gentle tone. "I understand why you did it. But, what I do not understand is why you're here. We didn't have lessons today. I'm only here because I heard the piano being played."

"Um…" Elsa hesitated, fully aware that she had to lie to her mother. However, she decided to lie as little as possible. "I wanted to play it, so I came. I had thought no one was near…" She heaved a sigh. "I guess I was wrong…"

Idun frowned, sad for stealing Elsa's brief moment of joy. "I'm not upset with you. No matter how much precaution you take, things can always happen differently from what we expected. Had I been Anna, or your father, you would have been in a more difficult spot. Fortunately it was just me."

She sighed, not wishing to sound like she was giving a lecture. "Just… think about that, okay? We've progressed so much. I don't want to lose…" she waved her hand between her and Elsa, "…this."

Despite seeming sad, Elsa smiled. "Neither do I… thanks Mama." She felt the need of hugging her mother, but restrained herself. She was not safe, and, no matter how much she wanted it, the reward would never be greater than the risk.

"It's okay. You don't have to thank me," Idun replied, smiling back. Hiccup, who was peeking from his hiding spot, found intriguing how they seemed quite similar at this moment. "I'll be going. Just remember to light out the candles before leaving."

She didn't wait for Elsa to reply as she strode toward the door. Saying goodnight felt wrong, because, no matter what she said to herself, she still felt as if she ruined her mind.

Elsa was not surprised that her mother did not say goodnight. As she watched her mother leave, she felt slightly guilty. She had noticed a couple of weeks before that her mother would display such behaviour when the woman blamed herself for making her unhappy.

"We need to go," she whispered, not because she needed to, but because she lacked the strength to speak louder. Hiccup came out of his hiding spot, and opened the door, as she instructed, while she lit out the candles.

Most of their walk back to the tower was quiet, that is, until Elsa broke the silence when she noticed Hiccup's thoughtful face. "Would you like to share what is going on inside your mind?"

She sounded curious, though not very curious, as he noticed, because she also sounded slightly dispirited. Still she seemed curious enough, and he hurriedly answered her as he realized he was mentally rambling. "That woman…your mother. She sounded nice. I…never had a mother, but I wish I had had if she would have showed me the same love and affection yours showed to you."

Elsa turned her face away, hiding her unshed tears from Hiccup while hugging herself. His words reached deeply inside her. She had not felt loved by her parents in a while, despite their support. So, to hear from this boy, who only saw her mother once and briefly, say that Idun loved her so much, hurt her a bit.

"So…I guess this is goodnight then," he said as they reached the tower. Toothless was fast asleep, which was probably the reason Hiccup was whispering. "Can I…um…can I try something?" he asked, shifting his feet while rubbing the back of his head.

Elsa hesitated, unsure of he wanted. He slowly extended his hand out, and pointed to her hand. She froze for a moment, caught off by his wish, before inhaling deeply. She took a leap of faith, and closed her eyes for a moment, before allowing his hand to grasp hers.

He brought her hand to his lips, barely pressing them against the fabric of her glove. Still, she felt shocked, and speechless, as he let go of her hand. "I…ready in a book that this is how you greet a lady. Since…um…you're not really touchy, I thought I could do this as a way of say goodnight."

She smiled, which made him visibly relax, only because she didn't know what to say. Despite their parents support, especially her mother's, they rarely tried to touch her, probably because they were afraid of being rejected by their firstborn. But he, even though he was visibly afraid, he still took a leap of faith.

As she left the tower, and walked toward her room, she could only think how she was not the only one to surprise someone that night. And that, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt if she opened herself to him and her mother a little.

007

Hiccup lazily awoke up. It had been a couple of weeks since he accidentally arrived in Arendelle, and met Elsa and only a handful since she played the piano to him. He occasionally dreamt of that night, and, have been thinking of a way to return the kindness she showed him since that night.

He slowly untangled himself from Toothless. Ever since they left Berk his dragon became a sort of bed for him. He couldn't complain, though. His dragon's scales were soft, and surprisingly better than his wooden bed back in the village, and his wings, which he used as blankets, were warmer than a fur blanket. It was like sleeping with a fur blanket constantly being warmed, and it felt wonderful for him.

"Good morning," he said to his dragon when Toothless lazily looked at him. He absentmindedly patted his dragon's head when he felt him nudging his arm. After he stood up Hiccup rubbed the sleep from his eyes. When he could properly see his eyes spotted the piles of books and papers Elsa had brought him these past days, as a way to distract himself during daytime.

He was lucky that most of them were written in runes. While they had some modifications from the runes used on Berk Hiccup, so far, rarely didn't understand what was written. There were a couple of books, though, that was written in what Elsa had called a Latin alphabet, and so even if they were written in Norse he couldn't read them. Fortunately, Elsa was aware of that and would sometimes read to him the books while would he takes notes of it. The hardest part of this was being able to keep focused while hearing her voice. Even though he has known her for a couple of weeks his mind couldn't simply get used to the beautiful voice the Princess had.

He sighed before approaching the piles of books. They were divided in what he had read, what he hadn't, and what he couldn't. His mind then began to wonder how Fishlegs would react if he could see this huge amount of knowledge and books standing before him. There were only little more than two dozens of books-as Elsa could only bring so many without people noticing the books vanishing from the Royal Library-but that was already bigger than the entire library of Berk.

Of course paper and fire-breathing reptiles was not a good combination, so there was a reason other than the Viking 'vikingness' behind's Berk small collection of books.

.

.

Berk… he sighed sadly and longingly. Part of him felt angry with himself that he missed his old home. They all agreed, Windwalker the most, that they were living better in Arendelle than he had ever lived there. Still, a part of his heart yearned to go back there, to see its imposing forest standing tall, to see his old mentor, to hear his sarcasm, to see his father, to see Astrid...

Toothless, sensing his rider's sadness, nudged his arm and cooed. Hiccup averted his eyes from the slack of books and looked at his dragon, his face showing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks bud... I guess that I still missing Berk…" he spoke with an alarming lack of enthusiasm for Toothless' standards.

Toothless would have scolded him for missing a place that had treated him with such misery and cruelty had he not fully understood his rider's feeling. He had felt the same when he left the island he grew up after hatching. Oh, how he wished that moment that he could speak to his rider as Windwalker could. He envied his dragon-cousin sometimes. Even though his bond with Hiccup was deep, it wasn't the same of his rider's with the White Fury.

Since he couldn't voice that he understood his rider's feelings, and that he would be there for him always, he nudged Hiccup's arm again and purred. Hiccup's smile this time was genuine "Thanks bud. I'm glad I have you," he said with teary eyes. Even though his chest ached with memories of his home, he knew he wouldn't return if that meant being away from his best friend.

He sighed again. It was not uncommon of his thoughts to drift toward Berk. These past days it happened more than once, mainly when he had not been busy reading, or writing on his journal. While he liked to lose himself in his thoughts, as it was like this how many of his inventions were born, it was also a dangerous thing to do since he could easily think of his old home.

He shook his head, and decided that he and Toothless would do something this day, anything to keep him distracted. He approached the pile and kneeled before it, his eyes scanned what book he could read. There were many options: Literature, Greek mythology, which surprised him, among others. He never had thought that there would be different kind of gods beyond the Nordic ones.

It was interesting to see different Gods, yet also see similarities between them, like between Thor and Zeus. He, however, was a bit skeptical of monotheist religions, such as Christianity. To think that only one being was capable of managing all realms seemed too exhausting. Berk, as small as it was, had a council to help his father run it, and he suspected that Elsa's father had something similar to help him run Arendelle. So it made little sense to him that only a single God would be able to manage everything without the help of others.

He shook his head and tried to focus again on the task he had set. He continued searching the books… Roman Literature, Poetry, Chemistry, History, Geography… He stopped searching when he saw the geography book. "Geography…this is the human science that studies the world around humanity and is divided in two branches: Political Geography and Physical Geography…" he read aloud. This peeked up his curiosity, so he continued reading it. "The Political branch studies the economy and politics of a nation, as well as the relationship between nations and individuals, both economically and politically. The Physical branch studies the nature, its domains and formations, and is also responsible for representing it through maps with various purposes."

His eyes shot in surprise. Since the moment he had first seen a map-the moment being the map of Berk and its surrounding isles-he had been astonished. To be able to register the world in such a simplistic and practical way was something he dreamed of doing, even more since he acquired the maps from Johann and left the village.

He quickly began building an idea as he read more about maps. "Different purposes...political and physical...different scales..." he mumbled as he read. His eyes absorbed every inch of information, from how to make a worldwide map to local ones and even nautical maps. He focused more on the process of making a measure than the smaller details.

It wasn't until an hour has passed that he finished reading it, or at least what he deemed necessary. He stood and turned to look at his dragon, his eyes lit with a fire akin to the one they had when he was about to begin creating a new invention. "So bud...you're up for some flying?" he asked, already knowing the answer. He knew that, no matter what, Toothless would never refuse taking a flight through the skies.

Toothless went from lazily lying on the ground on the other side of the tower to waving his tail around while ready to take off faster than Hiccup could blink. He jumped back, startled at the sudden proximity of Toothless' face to his. However, the surprise didn't last long, as he began laughing in disbelief. "Okay, okay, I get it. You really want to fly. Just let me take something before we leave," he said while grabbing some blank paper and tugging in his jacket, before hopping on Toothless.

After they took off, he thought about taking Windwalker to fly. While the dragon could fly by himself, he, much like Toothless, enjoyed greatly having Hiccup on his back. At first, he had been skeptical of flying with the boy, but now, it was possible that his enthusiasm when Hiccup hopped on the saddle could match Toothless'.

Hiccup, when Toothless evened his altitude, and was basically gliding, decided to not go forth with his idea. Due to his…unique anatomy, Windwalker couldn't blend as much as Toothless could. He was mindful of flying near the clouds, that way if anyone spotted them they would mistake Toothless for a big bird. Since daylight was short, Hiccup used every second of it wisely. By the time the sun was setting, he looked down at his work before storing it. He had managed to write down a rough skeleton of all Arendelle and its surrounding areas. He was quite surprise, as he thought it would need at least two days to do so.

It did help him, though, that he was used to drawing. After all, every invention he had built, disastrous or not, he had drawn beforehand.

After he safely stored the raw map inside his jacket, he met Windwalker to fly with them. Grey clouds filled the sky, which meant that it might snow soon if not later that night. But, for him it wasn't bad news. Instead, the grey clouds, along with the dying sunlight, were the perfect surrounding for both Furies to blend in. And, since he wanted to enjoy the sunset with both of them, he had nothing to complain; the chilly air near them was nothing compared to the snowstorm they went through when leaving the Archipelago.

It was a tradition, as he liked to call it, which was born not long after their departure from Berk. He had vowed to do it in as many days as possible. During their trip it happened almost every day and, even though being in Arendelle has its complications, he watched the sunset with his dragons fairly often. Only a few days he had missed watching it with Windwalker so far, and Hiccup intended to keep it this way.

They flew an hour or two after the sun had set. Since it was night he and Toothless could fly with more freedom, and so did Windwalker. They didn't do any of their usual aerial stunts, since Hiccup was both afraid of ruining the map and wanted a quiet, relaxing flight this day.

He patted his dragon's neck, silently asking him to return to the tower. Windwalker bid them goodbye when he noticed Hiccup heading back to the place he has been living these past weeks. When Hiccup and Toothless softly landed in the tower, he felt his face heat up as his gaze fell on a princess glaring at him with an annoyed yet amused face.

.

.

Elsa had arrived fairly early this night on the tower.


	20. A Confession Unheard

_**AN: Hello pals, and welcome again. I was supposed to update this weekend but I ended up going on an unexpected travel. Which is a shame because I'd sincerily have been happier reading your reviews than I was on the entire trip. Anyway, I still have people offering to help me bridge my excerpts. As of now there is no need for that. However, due to the... peculiar way I am writing this story, I can say that I will need help probably more than once. So if any of you, like V01dsw0rd is willing to help me, feel free to PM me!**_

_**Also I am dedicating this chapter to a dear friend of mine, and one of my very first readers: fanfictionmakermachine. It's his birthday (18th of February, as I am aware some of you are already on the 19th), so congrats! I hope you like this chapter.**_

_**IMPORTANT: **__**I have a request for all of you: I'd like all of you to tell me, in your reviews, whether my review responses sbould stay before the story or if I should write them after. If possible, tell me why you have your opinion.**_

_**Review response: **_

_**orca3533: Thanks ^^ and here is the next chapter. enjoy**_

_**fanfictionmakermachine: I hope you like your little gift :) and yes she will. How that'll happen... Hmm I guess you'll have to wait :P**_

_**LunarCatNinja: Yaaaay, new reader :DDD**_

_**gingeryetie: Here is more ^^**_

_**thearizona: So did I, which is exactly why I had the idea of this chapter to be honest. I'm glad you liked. The song I imagined her playing was Moonlight Sonata from Beethoven, but I'm aware that he probably had not composed this song by the time this story is happening. I'll try to think of new song to fit in with the timeline.**_

_**Dew That Is Blue: Oh yes, this story has more than once duplicated paragraphs. Since people hasn't complained lately, I don't think it is any longer. However I do not remember if I corrected all the chapters. And thank you for pointing this out to me. I sometimes mix some words, as is the case of your example. Other is costumes for costums and maltress for mattress. It's readers like you that help me improve my story :) thank you**_

_**Noctus Fury: Ah my dear old friend, here is another chapter which I bet you've been wishing for the past three weeks :P And yes THEY SHALL DIE MUAHAHHAHAHA. I think it might still be dramatic, but it'll be much more meanful than it was in the movie, rather than simply a rite of passage. And I seriously cannot believe you guessed it right again, on your first attempt. That's not fair. You know me too well.**_

_**KE12: Not many things, but, as time passes, she'll risk even bigger things. Maybe, though, one of these times she won't be so lucky... Yes I know I'm mean**_

_**Without further ado:**_

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Her day had been nothing special so far. Her mother, at her insistence, kept Anna company, while her father had been too busy managing the kingdom to spend the day with her, although he made, after lunch, a brief visit to Elsa so he could see how she was doing. To be honest she didn't mind passing all the day studying alone. While she liked the company of either her mother or her father Elsa, sometimes, just wanted to be alone as she had been this day.

She had been briefly surprised when she had arrived at the tower and found it devoid of its two habitants. Part of her, naturally, panicked, thinking that they had left. But this part was quickly shut out. She knew that they wouldn't leave her and, despite her natural distant and shyness, she was already fond of the boy and his dragon.

She noticed Toothless' quiet panting when they arrived at the tower. Even though she was annoyed, and her face clearly showed it, she couldn't keep an amused grin away from her lips. Her grin widened slightly when Hiccup noticed her sitting on her usual place and blushed slightly, no doubt realizing that he had both left her waiting for him and did not leave a note as they had agreed.

"So… I guess that going to fly without leaving a note is a behavior I should expect from you?" she asked amusedly, although concealing the little nervousness she had had when her eyes met an empty tower. No matter how much she reassured herself Elsa knew that she would, in the end, always fear being left behind, be it by her family or the strange Viking boy that rides a dragon.

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment while being sure to not look her in the eyes. "Err… sorry for that, Toothless was really excited to go flying," he mumbled, and a second later was shoved to the ground by a very indignant Night Fury. "OUCH, okay, okay, WE"-he briefly glared at Toothless, and was not amused at his friend's satisfied face-"really wanted to go flying," he corrected.

Elsa had to stiff a giggle when Hiccup was 'gently' shoved to the ground by Toothless. Had it been before she would have been worried if he was hurt, but now she knew that this was just one of the many ways he and his dragon interacted, and that Toothless would never hurt his rider. "No need to apologize, but it would be nice if you kept your end of our deal," she said, using a bit of his sarcasm to hide her worry.

Hiccup smiled, more to ease Elsa than because he had heard some sarcasm. Somehow he could see the worry Elsa was trying to hide, and this only fueled more his curiosity about this mysterious princess that often came to visit him. "I'll do my best," he said in a mock gentleman's voice while bowing.

This time Elsa couldn't hide her giggle. It was funny to her how he could easily make her laugh, while with her family she rarely laughed with. Her laughter stopped as she frowned slightly, recalling with a sad heart how she and Anna used to laugh so freely when playing with her powers. Or even how Anna had laughed so much that fateful night…

"How do you feel when you're flying with Toothless?" Elsa asked suddenly, surprising both her and Hiccup. She honestly didn't know what had even made her ask this, and Hiccup was surprised that Elsa asked anything about flying. He had never considered that someone would have interest in flying a dragon other than himself.

"Well… that's a trick question…" he commented while tapping his chin. 'What do I feel when flying?' he asked himself mentally. The question wasn't surprising, it was answering it that was tricky: there were so many things that he felt while flying Toothless that he had never stopped to think about it.

"It's… liberating… first and foremost," he said, struggling a bit to find the right word. "I don't really know how to explain… but to be free of everything, even the force that binds us to the ground…"-he left out the part that this required freefalling, otherwise he was pretty sure that he either would scare her or hear an earful about being reckless-"it is a feeling unlike any other. I've heard people saying how sailing is liberating, but I think that the only true freedom from everything is when you're flying a dragon…"

Elsa closed her eyes and imagined herself up there in the skies; to be there breathing cold air and feeling this freedom. Her heart thumped in despair and longing while her head imagined herself on top of Toothless, and imagined how that freedom must feel and taste. Her head didn't even register how terrorizing it must be to be hundreds of feet apart from the ground as she was too engulfed in how free she would feel.

Free from judgments.

Free from conduit codes.

Free from fear…

She laughed a quiet, humorless laugh. Here she was the epitome of imprisonment and there was Hiccup, sharing with her how it feels to be truly free. The irony didn't escape her; as a matter of fact she laughed because of it.

Hiccup was too wrapped in his thoughts, meanwhile, so he missed Elsa's quiet and humorless laugh. He, however, didn't miss the sad expression her face had, and decided to keep explaining, or at least trying to, how flying felt like. "I don't think, though, that this would be a feeling many will experience…" he commented, a bit dejected.

"I guess I could take you to fly one day…"-Elsa looked at him with a horrified face. Not as much from the idea of being hundreds of feet away from the ground as Hiccup thought, but more because this would require her to be extremely close to him, and she was deeply afraid of both hurting Hiccup and him finding out about her powers.

"But I don't know if that's a good idea… I'll admit that the first time I flew Toothless it was a terrifying experience… you would have to be entirely sure that you want to fly…" he explained softly, and was pleased when Elsa's face and demeanor softened. "In the end, all of it is about trust. I trust now Toothless that he won't let me fall, and Toothless trusts me to ride him," he finished while patting Toothless, who, in return, crooned in agreement.

"So…"He said after a pause, looking a bit shyly while shifting his feet. Elsa smiled, already knowing what the shy boy was going to ask. "Would you mind reading the History book for me?" he asked with his cheeks with a faint tint of pink. Elsa didn't mind that his request sounded completely childish. Instead, she cheered on it, since it was something she longed to do with Anna, but knew that it was no longer possible.

Knowing that Elsa wasn't much about proximity Hiccup let her take the History book while Toothless lay on the ground and he sat, using his dragon's belly as a support for his back. His journal was open, and he had one of the pencils Elsa brought him instead of his usual charcoal stick. He still had some issues with using the pencils, mainly because he wasn't used with their thickness, and so had to sharpen then constantly, but he had turned into his personal quest to use it as perfectly as he used the sticks.

"Okay… so, I think that we had stopped at the French Revolution," Elsa commented, although a hint of doubt lingered on her words. Hiccup quickly flipped through the pages of his journal and nodded, indicating to her that the last time they had stopped where Elsa guessed.

At first, her words were somewhat shy and quiet, mainly because she was very self-conscious that she was not only reading the book out loud but also to Hiccup. But, as she kept reading it, her mind slowly forgot that she was reading the book for someone else and not just to herself. She did have the habit of sometimes reading out loud, so her voice could make her company, thus lowering that feeling of loneliness she often felt.

Once she was at ease she kept reading with the same enthrallment she had when she had read for the first time about the bloody French Revolution, and Reign of Terror from Robespierre and the ascension of Napoleon Bonaparte. Hiccup meanwhile, tried his hardest to keep up with Elsa's pace, not because she was going too fast, but because, more than once, he would lose himself at the angelic sound of her voice, and would be snapped to reality by a very amused Toothless.

He still loved Astrid, but wouldn't think twice to say how beautiful his new friend's voice was if someone questioned him.

Elsa was so enthralled with her reading that she only noticed that Hiccup fell asleep when she paused to take a deep breath. His journal was idly standing on his belly, and so was his pencil on his left hand. Toothless had unconsciously wrapped his tail around his rider in a protective and brotherly way. His belly was being used as Hiccup's pillow, but neither dragon nor human seemed to care about it.

She smiled and quietly closed the book before placing it on the pile he had created with her books. She hesitated for a moment, but walked toward him. Careful so she did not startle him awake Elsa removed the pencil and the journal from him, aware that she was closer to him right this instant than she had been the entire year to about anyone… anyone being her father and her mother basically.

She sighed after putting away his personal belongings. Even though they knew each other for a few weeks until that moment, she still perceived Hiccup as a mystery. 'Probably just like how he sees me too,' she mused a bit sadly. "Why do you keep up with me Hiccup?" she asked through a whisper, although not waiting for an answer.

"How can you be so kindhearted when you suffered so much…?" she asked again, although sounding more desolate than before. "Can't you just see that I'm…" she bit her lip, suddenly afraid that he might be listening to her-"that I'm a monster…?" she finished after a moment of silence.

She hesitantly placed her gloved hand on his shoulder, the silk of her glove added with the rough leather of his jacket being enough for her between her hand and his skin. "How do you make me feel so at ease? Sometimes I wished I could just have you around… things would be so easier if I could see Toothless shoving you to the ground whenever I begin to lose control…" she commented with a quiet chuckle.

"You have the greatest freedom of the world… you can fly the entire world on the back of your dragon, yet you choose to stay here, hiding inside a tower and making company to a reclusive princess that was cursed with ice power…" she mumbled in disbelief, thinking once again that this might just be a dream. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, stilling herself as if to be ready to find herself alone in the tower as she used to be.

But, when she opened her eyes, the sight of a young boy with auburn hair and closed green eyes met her sight. Her eyes watered slightly as her mind realized once again that she wasn't indeed alone, that Hiccup crashed into her life and since them she could feel free within her prison. "I wish you knew about my powers… You're amazingly smart, you'd know how to help me control them…" she mumbled while absentmindedly caressing her thumb over his leather jacket.

She shook her head while using her other hand to wipe the astray tear from her eye. "Who am I fooling…? You would probably run away from me if you knew about them… or not… But you can't know… I don't think I'd ever be able to live if my powers hurt you… I barely live already because I keep remembering what I did to Anna…" she confessed, feeling conflicted inside about whether or not Hiccup should not about her powers.

It was not as much a question of whether he deserved or not to know it, but more of what he would do. He had both the childish wonder of Anna, but also the wisdom of her father. Elsa couldn't imagine how he would react, because he was so different from everyone she had met so far. His eyes looked like as if they have seen a lifetime, filled with good and bad things, but his heart was kind and pure just like Anna's was 7 years ago.

"Goodnight Hiccup… I… I wish you knew how important you are becoming to me…" she whispered before drawing in a deep breath and slowly standing. She quietly walked to the stairs of the tower and, before she exited it, she looked back, her eyes stealing one last glance at the boy that completely changed her life.

Elsa barely registered reaching her room, or even changing into her nightgown. She also barely registered tucking herself in her bed, or when her eyelids slowly started to drop. She didn't have any nightmares this night, at least not like the nightmares she usually had. Instead, her dreams were mostly the scenarios her mind built of how Hiccup reacted to her powers, or how her life would be if he was constantly on her life.

One particular dream shook her to the very core. As 15 years old it was expected of her to, at some point, have an infatuation over a boy; be it a servant, the stable's boy or a prince from another kingdom. But her reclusive life kept her apart from such natural feeling so far, while Anna had, more than once, been struck with the puppy love with the stables boy, the prince from a visiting party and the cook's son.


	21. Fright of Passage

_**AN: Hello again. I've noticed that the last chapter had significantly less reviews than the one prior to it. I wonder why. If someone has a theory about it Id be very happy to hear.**_

_**Review response: **_

_**LunarCatNinja: Alright then. At the beginning they'll be**_

_**fanfictionmakermachine: Hmmm hold onto that. I may just surprise you soon**_

_**Dew That Is Blue: Soon might be stretching it a bit too much, but he will one day definitely**_

_**thearizona: Oh my sweet summer child... don't hate me after this chapter**_

_**The-real-dragon-rider: Thanks ^^ I hope this one lives up to your expectations**_

_**Without further ado:**_

"Elsa?" Hiccup's voice asked within her dream. Said lady turned around, searching for the green-eyed boy as he kept calling for her name, but all she could see was an endless white vast expanse before her.

Suddenly a hand touched her, and Elsa screamed, or tried to. For some reason she found herself unable to make a sound. Even when darkness crept on her vision as she slowly fell to the ground she didn't manage to utter a sound. The last thing she recalled was hearing her name being called once again, but this time the voice seemed to be very close, as if he was right by her.

Elsa slowly opened her eyes, her head feeling a nagging pain as if something had hit her. Her dazzled eyes blinked the drowsiness away, and for a moment she thought that she had awoken from her sleep. But, as her vision cleared Elsa found out that she was lying on a grass field, the birds chirping and flying above her while the sun shined across the clear sky.

"Elsa?" the voice called, and she squealed, going down to the ground right after standing from it. She stiffed a groan as she felt her back hurt, and turned to look at the direction of the voice once again. But, this time she was surprised to meet Hiccup sitting only a foot or two away from her, his eyes looking at her with amusement and concern. "Hiccup?" she asked feeling surprised to find him. "Where..." she slowly sat, mindful of not getting nearer him, "Where are we?"

To her ever increasing surprise he laughed, as if she just told him a good joke. "I think you haven't fully awakened from your sleep," he commented amusedly. Elsa blinked in confusion, recalling that she didn't fall to the ground because she was sleepy. "But, anyway, you brought us to take a stroll through the gardens. You said you wanted to show me something," he explained, increasing her confusion.

'Show him something?' she asked herself mentally. She couldn't fathom what she would show that would require them to come to the gardens. She looked around, but other than the faint sight of her castle, and the occasional birds Elsa noticed that they were alone. 'Weird...' she thought, while also trying to find out what she could possibly show.

One particular thought came to her head, and her eyes widened at it. "No..." she thought, but was unaware that she also spoke it. She couldn't believe that she would have brought him to the gardens, a risk she wasn't sure of why she was taking it, to show him her powers.

.

"Yes Elsa..." he spoke, as if he could read her mind, "You brought me here to show your powers," he added, making Elsa's breath quicken as she felt despair creep inside her. She couldn't believe that she had been that reckless, she couldn't believe that she was putting Hiccup at this kind of risk.

She involuntarily recoiled when she felt Hiccup gently grasping both of her hands. "N-no," she stuttered, afraid of his proximity, of hurting him. "Y-you don't understand. I'll hurt you," she explained while her throat felt closed. "P-please get away from me," she asked, almost begging.

"Hey...Elsa," he called while still grasping her hand. Elsa weakly resisted his hold on her hand, but didn't pry them away. She felt an odd feeling of comfort coming from their clasped hands. "Don't you remember why you wanted to show me it?" she shook her head, feeling more lost than ever. Hiccup chuckled, and brought himself closer to her to the point that Elsa could feel his warm breathing tickling her dress. "You wanted to no longer be afraid, to no longer shut out everyone…that's why you wanted to show me your powers," he explained softly

Despite all the oddness of the situation Elsa felt herself slowly calming down with his tender voice and his gentle hold of her hands. "Are..." she swallowed in an attempt to quell her uneasiness, "Are you sure?" she asked, more to be reassured than because she didn't believe on him.

Hiccup nodded, showing an almost childlike joy. He let go of her hands to wave around while saying "Do the magic," in a manner eerily similar to how Anna used to do. Elsa, meanwhile, was confused of why she felt disappointed when he let go of her hands. She looked at his eyes, green eyes sparkling with energy that only a child could have, and the patience, of waiting to see the magic. Elsa raised an eyebrow, feeling conflicted at whether she should go on with this craziness or not.

He nodded again, as if he perfectly understood the unasked question, making Elsa draw in a deep breath. Her shaking hand slowly removed her gloves, and she hesitated for a moment when her hand hovered in the air. She looked at him once again and, once again, he nodded. She closed her eyes, and let her magic do the work. Tiny sparks of snowflakes flowed from her hand to the warm air and, when she opened her eyes, she found Hiccup looking at the little snow with awe and wonder.

"It's beautiful..." he mumbled, surprising further more Elsa. It has been years since anyone, out of the few that knew, saw her magic as something beautiful. "Do more?" he asked, making Elsa chuckle at how childish he sounded like. Feeling more at ease than before, Elsa let out another sparkle of her magic, but this time without closing her eyes.

She didn't know for how long they kept like this, she didn't know when she began feeling tired or panting, and she definitely didn't know when she and Hiccup got just inches apart from each other. "It's beautiful..." Hiccup spoke while clasping their hands, after Elsa stopped using her powers. "The magic... It is as beautiful as its yielder," he added while looking at her eyes. Elsa felt her cheeks heat up with his sudden compliment.

She saw Hiccup's hand slowly letting go of her hand, only to cup her cheek seconds later. She didn't know why she didn't feel uncomfortable with their proximity, she didn't know why she allowed him to cup her face, and she didn't know why she slowly leaned toward him. The last thing she saw was their lips slowly meeting; making her feel a warmth she had never felt before, right before her eyes closed and darkness greeted her once again.

Elsa jumped awake, quickly sitting on her bed. Her breathing was heavy and quick, as if she had run through the entire castle. She felt shivers run through her spine as her muddled mind cleared and vividly remembered her dream. Her cheeks immediately flushed a deep red as she recalled the kiss she and Hiccup shared in her dream. Her hand slithered on her face as she mumbled "What the Hel…" in a way her mother would have flushed in both anger and embarrassment. What was worse to her was that she couldn't understand from where this sudden desire to kiss him came. It has been weeks since she met him and Elsa couldn't remember a single moment that she looked at him in a way other than as a friend.

She lay down in a very un-lady fashion, wondering what was happening to her. "Am I that desperate for company?" she asked herself, recalling what she whispered after noticing Hiccup had fallen asleep. She decided to worry about this once she awoke again, and settled in trying to sleep again.

This time, much to her pleasure, she had a dreamless sleep.

The next few days passed by uneventfully. Other than not meeting Hiccup's eyes there was no change in how she and Hiccup behaved when they met. If Hiccup noticed Elsa's increased shyness over him she didn't know it, as he didn't speak of anything about it. Elsa thought about her dream the next morning, but, as she didn't find a reasonable explanation of why she dreamed that, she decided to brush it aside.

Hiccup, meanwhile, kept doing his little project as a gift to Elsa, while also keeping it hidden. The issue he met, one day, was how he would be able to finish the map. He already had the main area of Arendelle perfectly drawn, but wanted to include the mountains. The issue was that this would take him a day at least, far from the tower, and he couldn't imagine an excuse to suddenly go away for a day or two. He knew that he didn't answer to Elsa, but he felt bad at the idea of leaving her without an explanation.

"What am I going to do Toothless?" he asked his dragon while they were lazily flying above the clouds. Windwalker was near him but was silent, settled on listening to his little one's worries. "It's not like I can just go, 'Hey, so I'll be going out for a couple of days away. See you soon'," he said sarcastically. He saw through the corner of his eye Windwalker gazing at him, with a knowing look, and quickly answered. "I know I technically can, but I'm sure I won't feel good for doing so. She's been a wonderful company, and I don't want to leave her without an explanation, but also I don't want to tell her about the map..."

'Hiccup,' Windwalker's sudden voice startled Hiccup. Had it not been for his safety hook he would have surely fallen from Toothless. He turned to the white dragon, a confused look on his face as to why the dragon decided to speak up after being silent for so long. He noticed Windwalker nudging his face forward as if to point to somewhere. 'Look over there.'

Hiccup looked to where he presumed that Windwalker was pointing at. He noticed a small dot moving and narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see what it was. Just when the dot was about to go behind the mountain the clouds over it cleared and sunlight illuminated the area, and the creature.

Hiccup gasped when his eyes clearly saw what the creature was. He felt shivers on his back and his hold on Toothless's saddle tightening. "W-was t-that a dragon?" he asked, stuttering in anxiety. He turned to look at Windwalker, hoping that the dragon would shake his head or even let out a snarky comment about him going insane.

Unfortunately, the dragon solemnly nodded, indicating that indeed they had seen a dragon flying. "We need to check out on that dragon. It's too dangerous to have a wild dragon flying around," he spoke, feeling both determined and dreadful. Wild dragons were hard to tame, and if these people saw it then it would cause generalized panic, thus hiding Toothless and Windwalker would be nearly impossible.

He realized that he had forgotten one detail while considering what they should do regarding the wild dragon they spotted. "Go to the forest and clean up our camp. We'll be heading out tonight for the mountains. The night will give us cover to move more freely," he directed. "There's something I must do before that though," he added.

'And what would that be?' Windwalker asked in curiosity as he was about to leave them. He agreed with Hiccup about going to look out for the dragon when night arrives, but he was irked at what his hatchling would do, even though he had a good hunch at what that would be.

"I need to warn Elsa."

**xxxx**

Meanwhile Elsa was studying with Agdar. He had decided to take over the Royal's lesson for the day, thus allowing Idun to spend some time with Anna. However, this was not the main reason he did this. Idun had confided to him that for the last couple of days Elsa seemed a bit off, as if something was troubling her besides the usual. So he had decided to give Elsa her lessons and try to figure out if Elsa was really unsettled by something.

He was sure that Elsa was about to speak. She had stopped her lessons and drawn a deep breath, an attitude she usually had when she wanted to ask or say something more personal. However, they were both startled and shocked when a knock came from the door, and both knew that it was neither Anna nor the Queen by the sound of it. He noticed Elsa's terrified stare and gestured for her to stay put.

Quietly he walked to the door and opened it a bit to see who was outside. To his brief relief it was Kai, his trusted steward. His relief was short lived however because he noticed Kai's worried and serious face, something highly unusual for the man.

He knew at that moment that it would not be this day that he would find out what was troubling Elsa.

"I'll be back, Elsa," he said before slipping out of her room. Something was troubling his steward and he knew that it would not be good to discuss it near Elsa, or her room. He motioned for the two of them to go to his study so Kai could confide to him what the issue was.

"Your Highness, I am sorry for intruding on your...time with your daughter," he said when they arrived to Agdar's study. "But I have disturbing news. Several hunters reported a flying creature near the East Mountain earlier. I've checked with all the witness and most of them were not near one another, yet all their descriptions are similar to an extent," he explained.

Agdar listened carefully, and took the folder Kai had with him, in which there was the written report of the hunters. He quickly flipped through the reports, noticing that some of the hunters he knew of since they hunted in the woods for more than a decade for Arendelle. These were men that he trusted, and knew that they faithfully did their jobs. If even they reported spotting this creature, then it was indeed cause for alarm.

"Does the city know about this creature? Or did anyone aside from the hunters report spotting it?" he asked, his main concern being how they would respond if they knew that there was an unknown creature lurking near Arendelle.

"No, as far as I know, only the hunters that were hunting in the forests have seen this creature, and they have sworn to keep their information concealed, trusting that you would deal with this," he explained, leaving out the fact that he may have had to threaten one or two hunters to keep quiet.

"I see..." Agdar mumbled while tapping his chin. It was a terrifying idea that a monster was lurking near his kingdom, and even more so to him because it could hurt any of the people he had sworn to serve and protect when he became King. "Let me know if this creature is seen again. Keep the guards alert for anything unusual," he commanded. The last thing he needed was widespread panic, so he decided to keep this situation under cover.

**xxxx**

Elsa had decided to head to her father's study through the hidden passage when she only heard footsteps rather than his voice. She was worried about whatever Kai had that was of such importance to say that it would require him to invade her father's private time with her. Elsa didn't get out of the room anymore, but she knew that when her father was with her it meant he should not be disturbed unless it was something very important.

Suspecting that he went to his office Elsa quietly used the secret passageways to it, only lighting up her lantern so she could see the path, and because light almost didn't leak from the passages hidden doors. She wouldn't be able to open the bookcase door so she already expected to hear the conversation muffed by it. She took longer than she had thought she would to reach her father's office because it had been awhile since the last time she used the passageways to go to somewhere other than to the tower.

But she managed to arrive, and just in time to hear her father commanding Kai to keep the guards on alert and keep the situation, which she didn't know what it was, quiet for the mean time. Fearing that her father had discovered Hiccup Elsa quickly left for the tower, the air around her cold as despair ran inside her and unsettled her barely controlled powers, the lantern's flame flickering as her powers threatened to douse it.

She arrived at the tower panting slightly, and breathed a sigh in relief when she spotted Hiccup and Toothless there, seemingly unharmed. "Hiccup..." she said while feeling her stomach settling down after being worried with him.

"Elsa..." he said, though lacking his usual bright smile. It was only then that Elsa picked up something was wrong as she noticed his worried expression. The previously gone dread returned quickly, and she felt the air grow colder by a few degrees. "There's something I need to tell you," he explained without sitting.

"What is it? Did something happen?" she quickly asked, afraid that whatever he would tell her was linked to her father's orders to Kai. She noticed how his things were stored as if he was ready to leave and how Toothless seemed to be ready to take off. "No…please tell me you're not leaving," she said with a hint of despair lingering on her words.


	22. Duty Calls

_**AN: I realize I own all of you an apology. I had thought I left a note on this story indicating that I was putting a halt to my writing due to excessive homework from uni. As the-real-dragon-rider pointed out to me in a PM, I have not. Thus the apology. I would have uploaded this chapter sooner, but my Beta could not proof-read it, and so I decided to upload it today instead of waiting for him. I will add the proof-read version as soon as he betas it.**_

_**Review reply:**_

_**thearizona: Those are questions that will be answered later, and, obviously I will not answer them now to not spoil you. Hope you enojy this chapter :)**_

_**v01dsw0rd: I'm not sure I understand your first question, so I will kindly ask you to elaborate it. As for your other questions no Windwalker is not meeting Elsa...yet**_

_**LunarCatNinja: Well, see for yourself on this chapter :)**_

_**Noctus Fury: And yet I have you in my grasp, just like I had with Heather-Hiccup :P **_

_**KE12: I realized I read your crossover only now, and I must say i feel incredibly honored that you read mine (unless I realized this a long time ago. Then I realize I forgot that I realized :P). I hope you enjoy this very late update.**_

_**SpicedGold: I see. I shall reread the last chapter to see if I can spot this atmosphere you speak of. In any case I feel elated that you have enjoyed the last chapter so much, and I hope you'll enjoy this one as well.**_

_**Mark Andrew: It is a little early to speak of romance. They're only 15-16 years old. Maybe there will be, maybe not. First he has to earn Elsa's trust.**_

_**Dew That Is Blue: Well, see for yourself if she understand on this chapter. As for the dragon, we'll meet it soon enough.**_

_**OechsnerC: Update is finally up. I apologize for the delay.**_

_**Guest: As you can see we are. Don't worry, if this story is put on hiatus or not going to be finished I will let you all know. As I said on my AN I forgot to let a note saying I was putting writing on the background to deal with my uni stuff.**_

_**Without further ado:**_

_**I have decided to do a PREVIOUSLY summary, so you all can keep track of my story without having to reread the last chapters again.**_

**PREVIOUSLY: Elsa had a very unusual dream with Hiccup, which ended with them almost kissing. Meanwhile Hiccup was unnerved and stressed over finding out, during a flight he had with Toothless and Windwalker, that another dragon was in Arendelle. He realized he would have to warn Elsa. Meanwhile Agdar is informed of a creature of unknown origins lurking on the trees near the mountain by his guard, and gets on high alert. Soon Hiccup may not be the only one aware of this dragon's existance...**

Hiccup opened his mouth to answer her, to tell her that it would only be for a couple of days, but he closed it when he noticed her worried face. He sighed while running a hand through his hair, feeling a bit conflicted. It seemed that she didn't want him to leave not even for a day, and he honestly didn't want to either, but he knew that he would need to deal with the wild dragon, lest their stay in Arendelle be compromised. "Toothless and I went flying today..." he began explaining softly.

Elsa's fear quieted down when she heard her friend's words. She decided to hear what he had to tell her before jumping to any conclusions. A part of her knew that he wouldn't leave, at least not without a good reason, and if something got him worried then it should be something very important. "We were flying when I noticed something flying near the East Mountain. I..."-he quickly thought of a way to explain how he saw the wild dragon without revealing Windwalker. She would already know that there was another dragon in Arendelle. She didn't need to know that there was a third.

"I nudged him to fly closer. I was lucky that the clouds over there cleared before it could disappear within the mountain. Elsa..." he drew a deep breath. "It was a dragon the flying creature..."

Hiccup's words took a moment to fully hit her. Elsa's feared fully returned, but now it was fear for her family's safety. She couldn't stop herself from remembering Hiccup's stories of how the dragons raided his village, and she couldn't stop herself from questioning him. "Are you sure it was a dragon?" she asked, even though she didn't mean to doubt him. She also couldn't fathom how he did not notice the room becoming very cold, enough so that she could see his breath and hers.

Fortunately he didn't seem to be bothered that she was seemingly doubting him, or by the cold. "Yes... I'm afraid that it was indeed," he confirmed. "And it is why Toothless and I will be heading there to deal with It." He saw her open her mouth and quickly added, "I need to... A wild dragon by itself is already dangerous. And I'm the only one around here that knows how to deal with one…", 'at least without getting killed,' he completed mentally.

She closed her mouth while taking in what he just told her. She couldn't deny that he was right, and she even agreed that he was the best person to deal with this situation while keeping any collateral damages on a minimum. But, Elsa couldn't also deny her worry for his safety, even if he had Toothless and a, curiously, short sword with him. She recalled how he told her how he had been so close to death when he released Toothless, hence why she was afraid that, if this happened again, he wouldn't be so lucky. She hugged herself, feeling her chest tight with apprehension.

She deeply wished that she could hug him right now, that she could tell him to be careful and how much he meant to her. Instead the only thing that she spoke was: "Will you be alright?"

Hiccup smiled at her concern. He would have patted her shoulder in comfort or even given a hug had he not noticed how she was hugging herself, which he recognized as an attitude of someone averse of physical contact. "I'll be fine. This will take only a couple of days at most," he reassured while hopping on Toothless. He turned his head to look at her, and was concerned with her saddened expression. "This isn't a goodbye. I'll be back, Elsa." and with this he patted Toothless to take off.

Elsa watched with bated breath as he and the dragon flew away. Her heart ached with worry while she watched from the window the young Viking and his dragon blending on the dark night. "Please be careful Hiccup... I can't lose the only friend I have…" she whispered, watching the sky through the window even though she could no longer see them.

Hiccup kept looking back while Toothless went to the forest to retrieve Windwalker, and even when they caught up with the other Fury he kept glancing back at the tower. Windwalker, sensing his hatchlings despair, softly spoke up. 'What troubles you Hiccup?' he asked.

Hiccup closed his eyes and shook his head. "I... I don't know Windwalker. It's just that she seemed way sadder than what I expected her to be before leaving. This worries me..." he explained, speaking the last part with a quiet voice. Not that it mattered to Windwalker how loud his hatchling's voice was; for being a dragon Windwalker could easily hear Hiccup even if the boy would have been whispering.

'It is true that this is preoccupying, but you seem way more worried than I thought you would be...' he pointed out. For him Hiccup was like an open book, and he wanted to be able to help his hatchling as much as he could. It was, after all, the least he could do after being set free from his decades-long imprisonment.

"I..." Hiccup tried to speak but failed. What he saw on Elsa's face brought him painful memories of a not so distant past, one that he had forgotten during his current brief stay in Arendelle. "The way she looked at me... Her sad expression was one of fear of being alone." He looked at Windwalker. "It reminded me of Berk... Of before you guys came," he explained with a sorrowful voice.

Windwalker was silent, completely caught off by Hiccup's statement. He did not expect neither his hatchling suddenly being reminded of Berk nor Hiccup seeing on Elsa such familiar pain. He had been, so far, harboring a small dislike for the princess, mainly because of the empowering position she constantly had, even though she has been nothing short of kind toward his hatchling. But right now, even though he still didn't know how she looked like or how her personality was-he refused to invade Hiccup's mind to satisfy such meaningless curiosity-he felt sympathy for her.

Hiccup cleared his throat in an attempt to change the painful subject, and pulled Windwalker out of his thoughts. "So... We'll complete my map as soon as possible so we can use it to guide us through here. Windwalker, I'll be flying you to do the map since your flight is smoother"-Toothless grunted, pouting because Hiccup would not be flying with him. It was a childish rivalry he and Windwalker had: who Hiccup would be flying with-"while you bud will be scouting. You can blend in better so you can scout farther than Windwalker during the day," he explained as they landed.

Toothless held a smug look on his face after Hiccup's instructions, while Windwalker was muttering something along the lines of 'Childish Night Fury' and 'Terrors are more mature than you'. His smug, however, vanished when Hiccup told him that he would be using the autonomous tail, a mechanism he would have broken a long time ago had Hiccup not been stranded with a pack of boars on one of their stops back at the Archipelago.

"So, you think you could keep watch while Toothless and I go gather some wood?" Hiccup asked Windwalker as they approached a cave. A camp tent had been actually one of the few things he did not take when leaving Berk, although it didn't bother him. Most of the times during their trip he either slept wrapped in one of his Fury's wings, or they managed to find a cave.

Windwalker looked at him with a face that clearly said 'did you really ask that?' earning an annoyed yet amused glare from Hiccup. Teasing his abilities was one of the things Hiccup grew fond of doing during their travel. 'Sure...'-he answered, surprising Hiccup-'if you manage to come back without a pack of boars hunting you,' he added smugly.

Hiccup groaned. "Do we really need to go back there again?" and much to his annoyance both dragons hummed in agreement. "Seriously Toothless, you too?" he asked feeling betrayed, and earned only a gummy smile in return. "So much for loyalty, flying salamander," he muttered, earning a chuckle from Windwalker and an annoyed look from Toothless.

He cleared his throat to gather the attention of the Furies. "Okay, so we will set in for the night, and first thing tomorrow morning will be complete the map. One of us will need to keep guard of the entrance for any animals or hunters..." he instructed.

'I'll keep watch,' Windwalker volunteered. 'Putting you on guard will be like calling a pack of boars with a horn,' he added, making Hiccup mutter some curses along the lines of 'shiny salamander' and 'grumpy grandpa'. Determined to not lose their little teasing Windwalker swept his tail over Hiccup's leg, making him fall. 'Be careful Hiccup, "grandpa's" reflexes are quicker than yours it seems,' he teased while heading to the cave's entrance.

Hiccup raised his head to look at Windwalker before letting it fall to the ground. He noticed Toothless looking at him before crooning. "Yeah, sure, dragon pity will make me feel so much better," he sarcastically muttered. He drew in a deep breath before rising to his feet. "Come on Toothless, we need to hurry before it's too dark to go out," he said as he waited for his dragon.

While the two of them gathered some wood so they could set in for the night Hiccup glanced one last time at the direction of Arendelle's castle. "Don't worry Elsa; I'll be back soon… I can't let this dragon harm anyone…" he whispered before returning to the task ahead.

**xxxx**

Elsa, meanwhile, left the tower only an hour after Hiccup left. She felt dejected, and worried about Hiccup, about her family's safety. She strode through the corridors of the castle, instead of going through the hidden passage as usual, and was paying little heed to both her surroundings and the risk she was taking in doing so.

She was so unaware of her surroundings that she didn't notice Idun spotting her as the Queen was returning to her room after going to the kitchen for a midnight snack. She thought about calling Elsa, but seeing her daughter's slow pace and pale, sad face illuminated by the moonlight made her rethink her decision. She watched with a heavy heart Elsa heading to her room and her daughter entering it; the fact that Elsa's door wasn't locked didn't even register in her mind. "Oh Elsa...how I wish I could help you now…" Idun said with a sigh.

Elsa slipped to her nightgown but didn't head to her bed. Instead, she sat on the bench right next to her window, and leaned her head against the wall frame. Her eyes gazed at the lone moon illuminating Arendelle, and she felt an odd feeling of comfort coming from it.

Somehow she knew that Hiccup was at this instant being illuminated by this same moon, and she could only hope that this would continue to happen for, possibly, forever.

**xxxx**

She tightly gripped her pillow while she lay down on her bed. The clouds had obscured most of the sky, so there was no more reason to be stargazing. She could hear the sleep calling her as her eyelids felt heavier by the second. Welcoming it begrudgingly Elsa made one last wish before falling to the uneasy sleep she had been used to after her first outburst. "Please be safe…"

The next day arrived too quickly for Elsa's liking. She awoke to the sunlight peacefully illuminating her room; but she felt anything bur peaceful. She half-opened one of her eyes and noticed a thin layer of frost covering her blankets.

Too tired to even mutter a curse Elsa just weakly hit the blankets, thus sending the frost into the air and onto the ground. She knew that at any given moment Gerda would stop by and leave the trail with her breakfast, and that soon after her mother would call her to give Elsa her lessons, but at this moment she didn't want to care about it.

She slowly closed her eyelids again, the restlessness of her last night catching up with her, along with her worry. This time Elsa welcomed with open arms her sleep.

**xxxx**

Hiccup, on the other hand, jolted awake with Windwalker's voice. He hurriedly stood as his friend relayed to him that he spotted the dragon flying on the brink of dawn. For Hiccup's relief and distress Windwalker told him that the dragon was white, meaning that, while it wasn't a Monstrous Nightmare it could easily blend with the snowy territory that the East Mountain was.

"Okay, Windwalker, you and I are going to finish our map today while Toothless scout the area," he said as he grabbed some fish from one of Toothless' satchels to give to his Furies and to cook for himself. "Let's just hope today is cloudy. Otherwise we'll have a hard time finding that dragon without getting unwanted attention," he muttered while he gave a fish for Toothless to burn; they didn't have time to build a campfire to do so.

They didn't take long to eat, and quickly left the cave after that. Hiccup was elated that it was lightly snowing, making the skies a perfect cover for Toothless and Windwalker to fly. He was thankful that it was not windy, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to finish his map.

Idun walked worried and careful steps toward Elsa's room. She had a nagging feeling that her daughter would be somewhat indisposed to have her lessons this day, if the troubled look on her daughter's face she had last night was of any indication.

She stopped in front of Elsa's door, and hesitated to knock. Part of her wanted deeply to know what was worrying her, after all she had no doubt that it was related to the tower, but part of her wanted to let Elsa rest a little more, even if oversleeping was an attitude unfit of a future Queen.

She snorted, thinking that Agdar rubbed on her his sense of duty. Elsa wasn't even Queen and, hopefully, would not be for a long time. She wasn't even of age yet! Idun let her hand fall to her side, deciding to give Elsa some more time to rest. She turned around, ready to go to the library, and was surprised to come face to face with Gerda.

"Ah!" she yelped unceremoniously. "You scared me Gerda. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked with a much quieter, noticing her friend's guarded worry and aware that, if Elsa was asleep, she might have awakened her daughter with her yelp.

"Apologies my Queen," she said while curtseying. "As a matter of fact there is. The King asked me to fetch you. He's waiting for you in his study," she said, a small tingle of worry noticeable on her words, although only Idun and those that knew the servant for a long time could notice such thing.

"I see..." she said while furrowing her eyebrows. While not completely surprising that Agdar called her it was still unexpected. Few were the times that he formally called her, and the last time she could remember it had been to discuss Elsa's suitors. "Well, you can go back for your work. I'll be heading there. And Gerda"-she called as the servant turned to leave-"let Elsa sleep a little more okay?" she asked, not as a Queen, but as a worried mother.

Gerda smiled a sad smile. Idun may not know but she could see the worry in her friend's face. "Of course, I'll return within the hour with her breakfast. Would that be enough?" she asked while grabbing the tray she was just about to leave near Elsa's door.

Idun nodded, and soon they parted ways. When Gerda reached the kitchen Kai looked at her surprised, or more precisely, looked surprised at the tray full of food that she brought. "Err wasn't you supposed to leave the tray at Elsa's door?" he asked with confusion, even though he knew the answer.

Gerda, knowing Kai, understood the real question underneath the one he just asked. "The Queen asked me to let Elsa sleep a little more." Once she left the tray on a corner of the kitchen she sighed, and grabbed herself a cup of water. "She seemed more worried than the usual Kai... and I'm certain that it had nothing to do with the fact that King Agdar summoned her," she explained.

Kai's eyebrows rose in peaked curiosity. "The King summoned her?"-Gerda answered with a nod-"it is odd indeed. I don't think I can remember the last time he formally called for the Queen…" he tapped his chin in thoughtfulness. "But you said her worry had nothing to do with this…" he pointed out.

"She hesitated to knock on Elsa's door," Gerda commented. "And I've been her friend for a long time Kai… I know when she's troubled, even though she was trying to hide it. She seemed helpless, as if she couldn't do anything to help her daughter," she added sadly. It always pained the seasoned maid to see her friend with such pained expression, and even after seven years every time she saw an expression as the one she saw today Gerda remembered when everything changed.

"Do you think that Elsa is sick?" Kai guessed. "It is unusual of the Princess to be sick, and it would certainly make the Queen worried if Elsa indeed is," he added.

"I don't think so..." Gerda thoughtfully answered. "Had it been the case she would have either asked me to summon the Physician or fetch some medicine. I think that whatever is troubling our Queen and Princess can't be fixed with medical herbs."

Neither of them noticed a small redhead eavesdropping on their conversation, or her worried face as she quietly left the kitchen.

_**Update: Ogremen has proof read this chapter for me**_


	23. Two Friends Apart

_**AN: Hello again. I got sidetracked, so this chapter is coming out a week or two later than expected. I apologize for that. ON a happy note, after a month of going to mechanics and buying parts my car is finally fixed, which means one less headache.**_

_**Review response:**_

_**Guest: thank you for the comprehension and the patience. I know it can be frustrating when I don't update when I promised to, but unfortunately it happens. Also, should you review again, please do use a pen name. I feel more comfortable addressing you directly than through anymosity.**_

_**the core of justice: Already did so. It seems I need to do a formating on the Word file before uploading the chapter to be published.**_

_**V01dsw0rd: already fixed**_

_**LunarCatNinja: Thank you :) and well, you were mostly right. The beta pointed out a sentence or two that was oddly phrase, which I consider an improvement over the last time he beta-ed a chapter for me.**_

_**KE12: I'm glad you think I did Idun well. I was pretty nervous on portraying her the wrong way, especially considering we have so little information about her. And I think I may have an idea of how much of a relief it is to have a 'last time in...' section. Especially on this small fandom, where most stories can take months to update (such as mine)**_

_**thearizona: I'll give you a hint. I wrote that chapter way before the Snow Wraith episode, so it can't be him ;) And I hope I can shed some light for you on why Agdar called Idun on this chapter.**_

_**mc arno: After carefully translating your review on Google Translate I think I managed to understand what you said. So thanks for finding my story and my chapter cool :)**_

_**Noctus Fury: You're just a hopeless Hiccelsa shipper, no need to come up with excuses why he should stay with Elsa and not Astrid XD jokes apart, I do agree with you. Something that bothers me is when people immediately make Hiccup and someone fall in love and simply do not explore a friendship that could very well have happened before the romance. Could you give me an example of bad POV splitting? I tried my hardest to make as clear as possible who is the POV in each paragraph.**_

**_OechsnerC: Thank you _**

**_BloodshotJW: Here is another update. I try always to update as soon as possible, but, as I stated on my AN, fixing the car ate a good chunk of my time._**

**_Without further ado:_**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Previously:**Hiccup informed Elsa that he has spotted a rogue dragon during one of his flights with Toothless (and, unbeknownst to the Princess, with Windwalker too). He then left the castle to deal with this dragon, lest it endangers not only Arendelle, but Hiccup's secret stay in it. Meanwhile Idun's inside twist with worry as she wonders why Elsa is so crestfallen, and, to add up to her worry, Agdar personally summoned her, a thing said man has rarely done before.

Anna hurried to her room, the gears inside her head turning as she quickly thought of a way to cheer up Elsa. Knowing that her sister would not answer her, much less relay to her younger sister what troubled her Anna decided to approach the situation in a different way.

She was so caught in thought that her socked-feet slipped on the polished floor of the castle, making her crash, once again, into one of the armor sets across the hall. Anna cringed, more because of the earful she would hear from her parents, or Gerda, than because of the small pain she felt when the metal clashed against her skin.

She quickly but carefully stood and walked quietly away from the crash scene, hoping that at least no one would find her at the crime scene. When she turned right she leaned across the wall and left a sigh of relief escape her lips, as nobody seemed to have heard the armor breaking. She spotted the door of her bedroom and threw caution to the wind as she decided to run toward it.

Once inside she quickly went to her desk and took a paper and some pencils out of her drawer. She sat on the chair to write her little note to Elsa, but the way her feet waved around as she wrote showed how hurried she was. But, despite her hurry, Anna made sure, twice, that her letters would be well written and that she would make as few mistakes as possible. She recalled how Elsa's writing was as flawless as their mother's, so Anna wanted to, even though this was not her focus, to try to impress her big sister.

When the letter was finished Anna proof read it and nodded, satisfied with her work. She could only hope that this would help her sister…

**xxxx**

Elsa's day went by mostly like a blur. After awakening later than usual Elsa ate the breakfast Gerda had brought, eating only a small portion even for her standards, much to the maid's concern, who noticed this as she returned to pick up the tray left outside the room. She tried to read some books to keep her mind off from all of her worries, but it didn't work as she kept glancing toward her window in hopes of seeing a flying creature akin to Toothless. Eventually she gave up on her homework, and settled for a Philosophy book which Hiccup had been very fond of reading.

It was nearly lunchtime when Elsa heard someone knock on her door. She instantly recognized it as Anna's knock so she didn't glance toward the door, in hope that, somehow, this would make the girl leave. She knew it was usual of her little sister to knock before she spoke whatever was in her mind. "Hey Elsa…um, I've heard that you're not well so… I… I made you this. I hope you like it." There was a fear of rejection on Anna's voice, but Elsa's mind was too distracted to notice it.

In fact, her mind was so distracted that she almost didn't notice the noise of shuffling paper. She noticed the paper lying on the ground and in front of her door only when Anna spoke again. "So… I have my fencing lessons with Papa now… Bye, and… Please get better." and the sound of retreating steps was the only thing Elsa heard afterwards. She closed the book, not even bothering to mark the page she had been reading, and walked to her door. She kneeled and grabbed the piece of paper Anna snuck through the small space between her door and the floor.

Elsa carefully opened it, afraid of ruining her sister's work. She read Anna's words and saw the drawing her sister did of all of her family together. Elsa's eyes filled with tears while she hugged the letter to her chest. "Oh Anna… How I wish I could thank you now…" she said as some tears escaped her brightened eyes.

**xxxx**

"You wanted to see me?" Idun asked confused when she entered her husband's office. "You know there's no need for formalities between us," she chastised before noticing her husband's worried and serious expression. "What's wrong?" she asked concerned.

Agdar sighed, and motioned for her to sit on the chair before him. "There were reports yesterday of an unknown creature flying near the East Mountain. Several hunters, some from completely different areas, gave disturbingly similar reports about it…" he explained as she sat down.

"That is unusual… But, I don't think that's why you called me. You would have summoned me yesterday if this was the issue," she pointed.

He smiled, feeling proud of her wife's keen sense of awareness. "You're right... I called you because there were more reports today. One of the hunters claimed that he heard a shriek after he misfired, with his bow, an arrow when hunting a deer. His words were: I never heard such ungodly sound before, and I knew that whatever I hit wasn't native of your kingdom's woods."

Idun felt uneasiness grow inside her after hearing Agdar's words. She was about to ask him a question when he spoke first. "I've placed the guards on high alert for anything unusual, and the hunters are sworn to keep secret the situation. We can't let this reach the town otherwise we will have to also face widespread panic..." he said, almost as if knowing the question that Idun had been about to ask.

He sighed, and rested his elbows on the table. "What preoccupies me is the safety of our daughters. The hunter who shot the arrow seemed haunted by the 'ungodly scream' as he called the shriek he heard. Elsa would panic the moment the creature attacks us, and Anna is just a child, she wouldn't be able to protect herself..." he explained with a tired voice. Idun realized this moment that this situation left him too worried, enough to leave him with little sleep if the bags under his eyes were of any indication. She decided to tell him later about Elsa, at least when he wasn't too worried.

She rearticulated what she planned to talk to him. She laid a hand on her husband's hand as she spoke up. "Let me give Elsa her lessons for a while. You have too much to worry about for the time being," she suggested sympathetically.

The look on Agdar's eyes made clear that he wanted to pass some time with their daughter by giving her the lessons, but also understood that this situation demanded his utmost attention. He nodded solemnly, and Idun leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips before leaving his office.

**xxxx**

Anna was found by her mother shortly after said woman left the office. The princess was at the kitchen, hearing an earful from Gerda as the maid had been informed of the broken armor set. "You know that she is right, don't you?" Idun said, making the young redhead yelp in surprise as her back faced the door in which the Queen entered the kitchen, therefore having left her unable to see her mother arriving. "You could have seriously hurt yourself Anna. Try to run at least where there isn't a hall full of armor sets to you crash into," she added while laying a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Mama," she apologized while looking at the floor. "I just had had an idea and didn't want to forget it. I thought it would make Elsa feel better," she explained, making Idun look at her with a sad smile.

"It's okay my dear. What matters is that you weren't hurt; never mind the armor, it can be repaired," she said while cupping her daughter's face with her right hand, thus making Anna meet her mother's eyes. Idun smiled, and her smile grew bigger when Anna smiled back. "Now, would you like to keep me company?" she asked while letting go of her daughter's face.

Anna blinked in confusion. "I thought I was supposed to meet Papa to have my fencing lessons," the princess said with a small hint of disappointment. Gerda also looked confused at the Queen since she knew as well that Anna was supposed to fence with the King this day.

"I'm afraid your father won't be able to teach you combat today. There are some matters that were brought before him, and they demand his utmost attention," she explained with an apologetic face. She knew how Anna liked these lessons, and to see Anna's crestfallen face at this moment saddened her as much as when she saw Elsa's face the night before.

"Well then... I guess I can make you company after all," she said enthusiastically, even though part of her was disappointed that she would not have her fencing lessons. Her mother then asked Gerda to bring two mugs of hot chocolate, and the two of them sat on the kitchen table, and then began chatting and enjoying each other's company while occasionally sipping the warm liquid.

Gerda resumed her work, as suppertime was approaching, all the while feeling warm for seeing such family interaction between the Queen and the Princess. She learned to appreciate every time she was witness of those moments, as for the past 7 years they have been very rare.

xxxx

xxxx

Idun, after spending some time with Anna, decided to visit Elsa. She knew that opening the door without her daughter's consent was a risk, considering that she had no idea if Elsa was still awake, or even there, instead of the tower, but the worry swelling her chest was big enough to make her take the risk.

She took a long detour to Elsa's bedroom after tucking Anna in. It was both so she could ease her nerves, and to keep an eye out should Anna have followed her. While the younger princess had been nearly sleeping when she left her in the bed, Idun knew that there was a chance of Anna quietly following her. After all, the young princess made no secret that she was deeply worried about her big sister.

She reached Elsa's door far too fast for her liking. Even though she tried to keep her nerves at bay, a part of her still felt uneasy for breaking her daughter's privacy. She turned the doorknob experimentally, and was surprised that her door wasn't locked as it usually is. Careful, as to not make the door hinges creak, Idun slowly slipped into her daughter's room and leaned the door against the wall so that, at first sight, it seemed close for anyone wandering through the dark, quiet corridors near Elsa's room.

She was surprised to find Elsa sleeping in her bed rather than probably at the tower. It was late as she noticed when she looked at Elsa's clock, and, probably, near the time Elsa usually had her few piano lessons since the night she found her mother playing the piano. Idun was momentously surprised that Elsa seemed to not have left her room at all this day.

She quietly approached her daughter's bed and, as she approached, Idun felt her heart twist when the glinting of a light frost illuminated by the moonlight reached her eyes. Her gaze shifted to her daughter's face, and it was then that she noticed that Elsa was not having an easy sleep. She noticed that Elsa seemed tense, if the tightened muscles of her jaw were of any indication, and every few seconds she would lightly shift on her sleep, as if she was having a nightmare.

The Queen's eyes brightened, and she felt her heartbeat sounding heavier and heavier as she desperately wanted to sit on Elsa's bed and cradle her daughter, to sit Elsa on her lap and hug her protectively, shielding her away from any mean emotions that she may be feeling. She desperately wished that she could stroke her daughter's head, and whisper comforting words so Elsa could sleep soundly.

Idun then approached Elsa's window and gazed at the sky, unbeknown that her daughter did the same thing hours before. It was a cloudless night, an unusual sight during winter, and the stars shined, making Idun sight wistfully and wishfully. "Oh Elsa...if only I knew what is troubling you my dear... I few so helpless right now..." she whispered while hugging herself.

She decided then to leave Elsa's room since her daughter was sleeping. Idun briefly glanced toward Elsa's table, and smiled when she noticed the small pile of papers before finally leaving the room. Even though her daughter didn't leave the room she, at least, spent her time distracting herself.

Idun's biggest fear was of Elsa spending too much time alone with only her thoughts. She knew how Elsa saw herself as a monster, as unholy and incapable of being loved, and she was truly frightened by the idea of Elsa being alone for so long. She was afraid of what such devious thoughts could cause to Elsa's mind and spirit, and what it could lead her daughter to do.

As she was leaving the room, Idun missed the drawing of a young boy with auburn hair and a playful Night Fury by his side…

**xxxx**

**xxxx**

Meanwhile, Hiccup had finally finished his map, and was just adding small details when he heard a faint roar. His head shot up and his eyes immediately looked at the cave's entrance. His gaze then quickly shifted toward Windwalker, and the white dragon could see the question in the boy's eyes.

He shook his head. 'It's too dark to go out now. We can search for the dragon first thing in the morning, but right now is too risky. The forest is full of wolves and, while a wild dragon, it may be that he can survive an ambush. You however, would likely come out injured, even though you have us,' he said, and Hiccup noticed by his tone that Windwalker was being serious.

"Okay..." he said with a defeated tone. "Let's just hope nobody found him until then..." he added through a whisper before resuming his work on the map. His fear was of word of a dragon lurking around reaching Elsa's father's ear. It would no doubt put the kingdom in high alert and severely hinder their stay.

Most likely they would be forced to leave or else risk being discovered when flying for food.

Windwalker could see the faint lines of worry on Hiccup's face illuminated by the small campfire before them, and gave him a sympathetic look, even though Hiccup clearly wouldn't be able to see. He knew that his hatchling was more concerned about the rogue dragon's safety rather than his own, and it was exactly this that concerned the white dragon. He could foresee Hiccup risking himself to approach the dragon, and he wanted that, at least, the boy would not have the risk of being ambushed by wolves when doing so.

It wasn't long before Hiccup folded the map and stored it, seeming pleased with the results of his work. Despite being near Windwalker most of the time, again, Hiccup missed Elsa's presence. Being away from the tower painfully reminded him that the only friend he had before her he had to abandon on the same day he won her friendship.

"What will we do once we find that dragon…?" Hiccup asked with a voice indicating doubt laced with worry. Windwalker looked at him and was about to answer when he stopped himself from doing so. It was then that he realized that, until that moment, none of them had thought about what to do after finding the rogue dragon.

'Good question… I don't know how to answer it though. It will heavily depend on what species are we dealing with, and how it will react to our approach. Should he be peaceful then we can just make him leave or live in a high part of the mountain. But if it will be aggressive toward us, then I can't really predict the outcome of this situation,' Windwalker answered after a pause thought.

'You do have your sword with you, don't you?' It was a simple question, but not for Hiccup.

"Absolutely not!" he said while raising his voice and himself to his feet. The sudden shift of his tone jerked Toothless awake, making the onyx dragon looked alarmed at his hatchling, although neither he nor the White Fury noticed the black dragon's awakening. "I will not resort to such barbaric methods to deal with this dragon," he added with an authoritative tone that sent shivers to Toothless' spine.

'Don't be idealistic. We both know that there is a big chance of the dragon being hostile toward us, mainly to you. You need to have a weapon for protection if the situation demands so,' Windwalker retorted with an equally fierce tone. He would not stand seeing his hatchling putting himself at risk because of a foolish idealism.

"This is exactly why we're searching for the dragon together, period. We are not part ways to search for him, and I am pretty sure that two Furies can handle a rogue dragon easily," Hiccup said with a small sneer, uncharacteristic of his personality. It really bothered Toothless to see his rider acting like this, but he could understand why.

Hiccup didn't want to harm any other dragon since he maimed Toothless' tail. So, naturally, Windwalker's suggestion regarding the sword deeply upset him.

Windwalker's demeanor shifted from angry to slightly hurt. He averted his eyes from Hiccup and lay down his head, feeling bad for both Hiccup's thick stubbornness, lack of a sense of self-preservation and for arguing pointlessly at his hatchling. He should have known Hiccup would have been upset by the mere idea of pointing a sword to a dragon.

The boy drew in a shaky breath and let himself fall to the ground. Toothless crooned lowly at his cousin as he sensed the dragon's guilty exhaling from him. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to doubt you guys… I'm just tired, and I just want this to be over…" he apologized with a regretful voice. His eyes were downcast as he hid his face in his hands, feeling ashamed of his sudden loss of patience.

'It is okay… we're all feeling restless and tired about the whole situation. I agree that the sooner we can wrap this up, the sooner we can peacefully rest…' he said with a half-asleep voice. 'For now we should go to sleep. There's no point in arguing and thinking about the matter now anymore…'

Hiccup nodded, and he let himself curl into Toothless' embrace. Soon the three of them were fast asleep, eager but also dreading of the outcome of the next day.


	24. What Is Love?

**_AN: Hello again. I apologize for the delay. I was meant to upload this chapter a week ago, but I... forgot. Simple as that, so I hope you all forgive me forgetfullness._**

**_Review response:_**

**_fanfictionmakermachine: I certainly am. And you will notice that I'll do this more than once in this story. I hope you enjoy it_**

**_mc arno: I hope Google Translate translated your review correctly (or mostly correctly at least). In any case, I wouldn't say Elsa and Hiccup are forming a romantic relationship, as they are more simply forming a relationship. Remember, both are introverts and socially reclusive. Add to that Elsa's powers and his status as runaway (and technically intruder) and you have a very fragile (though not so much) relationship. As for him meeting Elsa's parents that (SPOILER) will happen eventually. But there are a good amount of chapters until then._**

**_LunarCatNinja: Thank you. Writing Anna is actually the part of this story where I most feel insecure. I'm glad you enjoyed it._**

**_Noctus Fury: Maybe she'll hunt him and end up shipwrecked on Arendelle's port (hehe) you can never know... Anyway, I do agree with you. But remember that Elsa is feeling confused because she has no experience in this area whatsoever. She never really had a friend that is not her sister, nor ever thought about love until this dream And the X/07/ marks I use to change scenes, rather than POV. I always try to make it as obvious as possible to see whose POV is in the paragraph._**

**_thearizona: Nonono, you'll have to wait until said dragon appears so you discover its species. And well Anna tries her best to still maintain contact with Elsa, even if the later is reluctant to do so. And thank you. I certainly try. Mostly I just forget to update the story (at least I don't forget to actually write it)._**

**_KE: to be honest the first time I read your review I thought atm meant atmosphere (too much chemistry in my head), but then the second time I knew it was 'at the moment'. I hope your finger is already by now (it has been a month after all :P) and I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story. I'm enjoying your story just as much too._**

**_This chapter was cowriten by SpicedGold. She's a very talented writer (and drawer), who has beautiful Frozen stories published. I highly advice any and all of you to read it. Thumbs up for her work in here, as well as for discussing with me how to put love in words._**

**_New speech format:_**

'_hohoho' = _Thought

"hohoho" = speech

'hohoho' = Windwalker mind speech

_'hohoho'_ = stressed word, indicating urgency or importancy.

**_Without further ado:_**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The next day arrived and Elsa seriously considering missing her lessons again when her blurry vision cleared and the sight of a light, thin frost covering her blankets reached her eyes. She lazily hit her blanket, sending the frost to the air and to the ground in the process.

'It's not that hard. Just tell Mother that you're feeling uneasy or ill, and she'll let you rest for the rest of the day,' her mind thought, seriously considering it. Her mother would easily accept it, therefore letting her have a free day. Elsa groaned lowly and let herself fall on her pillows.

"No, you can't keep acting like that. You'll needlessly worry Mama, and a Queen does not delay her work. Conceal, don't feel," Elsa said to herself in an attempt at reigning the swirling storm inside her. She wanted to see Hiccup again, to know that he was okay instead of lying dead somewhere in the forest buried in the snow.

She shot up, her eyes quickly looking at the door, when someone knocked. Her mind instantly recognized the knock as Gerda's and she looked at the clock. She felt herself ease a little as she noticed that she didn't oversleep as she had done the day before. "You can leave the tray there Gerda…" she answered, just to assure the maid that she would eat her breakfast on the appointed time.

Elsa, as she went to pick the tray, thought about this simply interaction. She realized that, although these were probably the only words she spoke to Gerda for the last couple of years, she spoke, while with Anna she barely uttered a word. It saddened her to realize that both her contact with one of her family's oldest maid was short and warm lacking as that she had contact even with the maid, but not with her sister.

She decided to eat some of the chocolate cookies, no doubt prepared and cooked by Gerda especially for her, and to sip some of the warm chocolate milk that was also brought with the tray. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but her stomach was craving for some food as she had barely eaten the day before.

She was enjoying the warm cocoa filling her belly when another knock came from her door. This time she recognized as her mother's knock, and even if she didn't have, the voice that soon followed the knock gave away who it was. "Elsa? Dear, are you feeling well for today's lessons?" she asked and Elsa detected a hidden layer of worry beneath her Queenly voice.

She hesitated for a moment as the thought of dismissing today's lessons filled her head briefly. But she shook her head, and decided to attend her duties, despite her uneasiness and worry. "Yes Mama, please come in," she answered, after cleaning her lips with a napkin and smoothing a few loose strays of her hair. Unlike Anna's, Elsa's hair rarely was wild whenever she would awake, but this didn't stop a few rebellious strays of hair from appearing.

Her mother cautiously slipped to her room, and smiled when she saw Elsa eating. Gerda had told her that her eldest daughter had barely eaten the day before, and she was worried that the same would happen this day. "Do you wish me to come once you're finished?" She asked, knowing very well that her daughter enjoyed a quiet breakfast.

"No… would you join me instead? You can serve yourself if you want to," her daughter asked, and it was when Idun approached her that she noticed her daughter's exhausted posture, and the tiredness radiating from her eyes. She briefly wondered if she should just tuck Elsa in her bed and let her daughter sleep, but decided against it. It would be pointless to go against Elsa's will, even if it meant that her daughter would be restless throughout her lessons.

Mother and daughter sat on the bed and quietly ate the food lying on the tray before them. Idun had eaten breakfast already, but she didn't mind eating a little bit more if it meant enjoying Elsa's presence. It also allowed her to think how she would teach Elsa's lessons this day, because she didn't want to overload her tired daughter with History and Royal Lineage, even though Elsa was slightly delayed on them.

Elsa, meanwhile, was using this silent moment to reflect about her actions. She knew that her demeanor changed since Hiccup's departure, and that her mother noticed the change. Even if Idun wasn't oblivious to Elsa's subtle glancing at her face she would have easily seen the lines of worry in her mother's face.

Moreover, she still hasn't recovered from that weird dream about Hiccup. Part of Elsa was deeply afraid that she was falling in love with him, especially because she had no way of knowing if she was. She had never been in love before, and she didn't know if missing Hiccup so much was simply because he was her friend or because she had feelings for him.

An idea suddenly crossed her mind that almost made Elsa choke on her warm cocoa. Her heart quickened its pace as she pondered whether or not she should talk about her mother about Love. She was the only one Elsa could speak about this without being judged or interrogated. But, even if her mother didn't do this, it would still raise questions inside her mother's had.

…Questions that, sooner or later, would be asked. Elsa knew by experience, as she recalled the night she found her mother playing the piano.

In the end Elsa decided to go forward with the idea. Her need to understand her feelings, therefore having control over them was stronger than her fear of being questioned. It was a necessary risk to take, and Elsa knew that it would increase her mother's curiosity about her visits to the tower.

She knew that, sooner or later, Hiccup would be discovered. Elsa of Arendelle could only hope that this question wouldn't make it happen sooner…

"Mama... Can I ask you a question?" Elsa asked, breaking the silence that had settled in after they had breakfast together. She kept looking straight ahead, not daring a glance at her mother. Not directly at least.

"Of course," Idun replied, "You can ask me anything," she added. It was not uncommon for Elsa to ask her this before making a more personal question, but Idun found a bit odd how Elsa was purposely avoiding looking at her eyes in this moment

To her it also seemed that Elsa was struggling with a brief internal debate. Her eldest daughter pressed her lips together, before finally asking with a quiet, almost inaudible voice: "How did you know you were love in with Papa?" with a faint, but not too faint for Idun to not notice it, blush in her cheeks.

Idun's first reaction was to open her mouth, and she almost asked Elsa if she was in love. But no words left her mouth, and she was thankful that Elsa missed her hesitation. Her second reaction was to wonder why Elsa would speak of this. She briefly wondered if Elsa was in love, but quickly put aside the idea. Elsa's company was composed only of her and her husband, and she doubted that Elsa would have fallen in puppy love for some soldier or a horse keeper like Anna once had. Idun knew that her eldest daughter was far too rational for that.

And far too afraid to feel.

Seeing that there was no way she could ask Elsa why she asked such question without implying that Elsa was in love with someone Idun decided to, instead, try to answer the question.

She took a moment to think; the question was surprisingly difficult to answer, the task of putting such extreme emotions such as love into words was challenging. It also didn't help Idun that she noticed Elsa subtly looking at her with an expectant gaze…

She drew in a deep breath before speaking. "Love is caring for another person," she began carefully, "and putting their needs before yours. It is feeling safe and free around them, and always enjoying their company, even when you have nothing to say to them. Love is trusting them completely, because you just know that they would never let you down. It is a sense of peace when you think of them. That's when you know you are in love."

Elsa was looking straight ahead, listening, and processing, and wondering what that meant for her. Her mother's explanation raised more questions than it answered, while confusing snippets of time spent with Anna and Hiccup intertwined with her thoughts. It wasn't a clear answer – it wasn't what Elsa needed to hear.

She frowned slightly, just a little crease of tension between her eyes only silently noticed by her mother because she was carefully looking at her daughter's face. She sent Idun another brief sideways glance, venturing a further question. "But that's how I feel about Anna"-'_And Hiccup_'-"and yet we aren't kissing each other like you and Papa."

A flicker of understanding lit in Idun's eyes, while she mustered all her strength to ignore the blush and heat on her cheeks, Elsa's amusement behind her eyes and her own embarrassment at hearing her eldest daughter speak so bluntly of her affection with her husband. "That's a different sort of love. Love comes in many forms."

"So how do you _know_?" Elsa pressed with a serious tone, as if her mother had just never been embarrassed from her question. She pressed because it was vitally important to her that she had this defined and understood. Understanding was a form of control; definitions made life easier to handle. It lessened unpredictability, which lessened tension. "What's the difference between how I love Anna and how you love Papa? I need to know…" 'Because I need to know how I feel about Hiccup.'

There was another pause, where Elsa waited and Idun struggled to put abstract concepts into words Elsa would understand. "Loving family is different. It comes easily. When you and Anna were born, the whole world felt different to me. I felt warm inside, and so content. It was as though life was perfect; seeing you made life perfect. Time stops, and you want nothing more than to protect those that you love, and make sure they are safe. You value their health and safety above your own, and they become the centre of your world. And sacrificing yourself, or your comfort, is easy because you know you would go to the ends of the earth to protect them. They complete you." Idun paused there, to see if Elsa understood…

…And because she was afraid that, if she continued speaking, she would end up bringing the accident that happened 7 years ago.

The princess was nodding slowly, considering the information. Certainly, yes, she considered Anna's life of greater value than her own. She would struggle every day if it meant Anna was safe… hence her isolation. And knowing Anna was safe eased the feeling of guilt in her stomach. And, yes, loving Anna was easy, as easy as breathing, with as much thought behind it. It came naturally, and so Elsa risked a small, genuine smile because that much she understood.

And to some extent the same applied to Hiccup. She feels protective of him, especially because he's unaware of her powers, so he's unaware of the risks of being near her. She feels safe when she would be listening to him speak with his eyes alight, and above all Elsa felt that she could no longer go forward if he suddenly vanished from her life. She knew, with no amount of reluctance, that she could no longer go back to the lonely, empty tower that once was before his arrival.

He had become a part of her life, something she unconsciously wanted and couldn't fathom existing without. She enjoyed the time she spent with him; she looked forward to it eagerly and yearned for him when they were apart.

And he still had to return from his search for the mysterious dragon lurking in the depths of the mountains.

"Romantic love, though," Idun continued, seeing as Elsa was so far in agreement with her, if her silence was anything to say; "Is like finding another part of yourself that you didn't know existed, but you cannot live without. You smile when you think of them. They weave their way into your thoughts at all times, and at strange times. You look to them when you have nowhere else to look. Your heart soars when you are near them, and aches when you are apart. You find security in their presence and serenity in their voice. True love aches, but it is a pain that you will carry without complaint – because it is the pain of love that all people seek in life."

Elsa heaved a heavy sigh, her previous levity lifting. "The whole world changes..?"

Thus far, her world had not changed, not as her mother seemed to imply. It was the same as it always was – lonely, difficult, an on-going struggle both against herself and with herself. But she felt her heart aching for Hiccup's absence, and she found security around him. Idun's explanation was supposed to help her understand how she feels about Hiccup, but so far all it did was confuse her more... Some parts of her mother's explanation made it sound like she was in love with him, other parts convinced Elsa that she just considered Hiccup family. Love appeared to not be a concept set in stone. It was thoroughly intangible, frustratingly difficult to comprehend.

"Yes. Your heart beats lighter. The air feels warmer. You live to make the life of that person whom you love richer. You care for their happiness above your own. You make sacrifices for them, even if it's something you don't want. Because their happiness is your happiness, too. Love completes you. It makes two people function as one."

'It would mean no longer feeling alone,' Elsa decided. True love would fill the gnawing pit in her stomach, it would quell the violent rise of ice that came unbidden and against her will. True love would mean _feeling_. True love meant welcoming pain and fluttering hearts. She did not experience that around Hiccup. Comfort, yes, and even contentment. But not completeness. There was a part of her still missing, a void still to be filled.

And that void would probably remain. It never existed when she was with Anna, but she can't be selfish to fill this void, while putting Anna at risk. No, she would have to endure this void alone, if it meant keeping Anna safe. She knew this void was breaking her mind and spirit each day it passed, but she was willing to go through this.

Everyone's life was more important than hers after all… Anna's, her mother's, her father's, and Hiccup's. Others need to be happy to live, she doesn't.

In the end, Elsa decided that she neither loves Hiccup as her mother loves her father, nor loves him as she loves Anna. He was important, indispensable even, if she was being honest with herself, but he did not cause within her the sort of emotional change that Idun described. Her dream confused her mind, and his absence ached, but she still felt lonely, whether with him in the Tower or not. Her feelings towards him were obviously something more, something even more elusive than love.

Or, perhaps, a mix of those two types of love.

As silence filled the room and Idun kept looking at her daughter, looking for a clue to what she is thinking Elsa was, meanwhile, trying to find out if she missed something of her mother's explanation.

A silent minute passed before Elsa let out a defeated sigh. She found out that she understood completely her mother's explanation of love, yet still didn't know how she feels about Hiccup. She couldn't pinpoint what she felt around him, or for him.


End file.
